We Wrecked Our Car

Last Saturday John had been working on the van's brakes and bearings. We needed one more part to put it all back together. So while the kid's were eating lunch, we decided he and I would go and pick up this car part. We were maybe half way there, on the highway, when a deer came darting across the road. John slammed on his brakes and we skidded for quite a ways. The deer hit the front end, and bounced onto the windshield, then rolled across the top before falling off. We heard a loud thump, and then an explosion, which sent little pieces of glass into our faces. I kept my eyes closed waiting for to see if we were going to go over the edge, or hit the guardrail. But we came to a stop perfectly on the berm of the road, as if we had just casually pulled off. We were fine. John cut up his finger a little when the windshield came in and hit the steering wheel with his hand there. I had many small cuts on my face, and a bigger cut where the metal from the top of the windshield came in and hit my head..........this one bled pretty good. I also got a good sized bruise and sore arm from when the rear view mirror went flying off and hit me in the shoulder. We had 2 policemen there, the ambulance, and the fire truck. They even offered us the deer to take home and put in the freezer.......lol. The tow truck came and got the car and us back to the bottom of our hill. Then because of the mud........me and John had to walk back up the hill to get home. (That didn't quite seem right to me, after being in an accident!)

Mud Season

Most of you know that we have 5 season here in New England. (Winter, Winter, Mud Season, Spring, Fall. ) Well ok, maybe not really like that.......although it seems that way. Oh, I can't forget Black Fly Season!!! That is coming up next--Can't Wait!!!! (NOT!) At the moment, we are nearing the end of Mud Season. We haven't been able to drive our van up the hill for a couple of weeks now. It is just too muddy. I have to put these pictures on here for my dad. My dad has this little driveway, which he likes to rake the ruts out of. Which makes me laugh when I look at our 1.5 mile driveway everyday. 1.5 miles of mud and 6-12 inch ruts. Completely yuck, and we have to walk it everyday. And there is no way that I am about to rake them out! The pictures don't do it justice--it is worse then it looks!

I tried to avoid the ruts by going to the side a little. The side gave out, and the van slid down getting me stuck in the mud. Hey, not to bad though.....I only got stuck in the snow on the road twice this winter, and once now in the mud. A good record for me!

Crazy Hair Day

The elementary school had a crazy hair day last week to bring in school spirit. Personally I think it brought in alot more then that. There was some crazy hair going on at the school. The kids had fun with it though.

One Year Party

We celebrated the one year mark of having Shannon, Joshua, Cassidy, Nathan, and Brenna with our family on March 25th. All 13 kids have been asking for the people sticker things that you stick on the back of your car for months now. We finally got them for our van. I labeled each one with a name and hung them on my little indoor tree. We ordered a special family tree cake with every one's names on the leaves, and had ice cream. Then came the fun part. I gave everyone a balloon, and had them use markers to decorate it to look like themselves and put their name on it. Then John gathered them all up, and we threw them all out in the living room. each kid grabbed one that was not theirs. Then I told them "This is the only time I am going to let you sit and jump on one another!" So we took turns jumping and sitting on each other's faces. The kid's had a blast with this. This took longer then expected.....so the next time we played family feud all together. It ended up being a 2 night party. Everyone enjoyed it!

*~*

Me and John felt the kids deserved this. All thirteen kids have been through a lot in the past year with the adjustment and all. We are pleased at the progress everyone has made. And are thrilled how well they all get along and help each other out. I couldn't ask for better kids.

The Emperor's New Clothes

The Bath Elementary School took a week off from school work and everyday practiced for this play. It was amazing what these kids did a week. It was very cute, especially the little sheep. They were the hit of the show. Hannah and Joshua were townsfolk, Isaac was a student, Jacob was in the chorus, Samuel and Cassidy were sheep.

Just another Update

Everyone here is doing alot better. We have had that nasty stuff that is going through Vermont and New Hampshire. Except we are on round two. Everyone seems to be getting over it though...just a lingering cough. I am anxious to get the whole family to church at once this week. Last week it was the little kids sick, the Sunday before it was me, I will admit. Chemicals in my brain weren't working that well to say the least. I was down for about 7 days....couldn't focus, think, or do much at all. John took care of everyone over that weekend, and let me sleep, and not stress. Bumber, because we missed all the early and afternoon meeting at church......although people have kept us updated, which is nice. My medicines are working finally. I feel tons better, and actually went for a walk outside today. (Well part of that was because the mud on our road gave up, and the van slid to the side getting more stuck---so we had to walk up.) Thank goodness it is warm outside.

Gosh, there isn't much else going on. We have been busy for a couple weeks finishing up with this school quarter. Kids have been pushing really hard to get their grades up. They have been completing lots and lots of reports, projects, etc. Although with all 10 kids it probably seems more to me then it really is, once you divide it up. It all makes me stress a little. But I am trying not to worry about their homework, and just let them do their best. We should know by next week or so how they did.

Upcoming events...........hmmm......Elijah has his first track meet next week. That's about it. Post more later.

Another Quick Update

Not a whole lot happened last week. Was a very slow week. Well, ok.......not really, but I took it easy, and tried not to stress. (I had a major headache all week) The 6 elementary kids practiced all week at school on their theatre play "The Emperors New Clothes" (western version). Then Friday night they performed it for the first time. It was adorable. Samuel and Cassidy were little sheep, Jacob was in the chorus, Isaac was a student, Hannah and Joshua were townsfolk. They all did an excellent job (no one ran off stage crying or anything......lol). On Saturday, they had to go to school for rehearsals. The good thing is, they got to count it as a make-up snow day. Interesting, huh? Then Saturday afternoon, the performed it again. I went the first night with half the kids, and John went the 2nd night with the other half. (That way we didn't take up the whole auditorium--just kidding!)

Sunday my headache, and anxiety was so bad that we didn't get to church. I was down all day, and John and the kids were stressed and worried. They did a wonderful job of helping around the house, getting meals, and watching out for each other. I am glad of that. Towards evening, John had the bishop come over to give me a blessing. That was nice. I am so glad I have such a caring and helpful husband!

Monday I went to the doctors to find out what is going on with me. He gave me a couple prescriptions. One is for the headache and tension. What a relief--I actually feel pretty good again. Hopefully things will turn around for the better now. I need to be up and going with the family!

Today Isaac got caught up on his immunizations. And then I took the little kids shopping. We had a blast. Got Willem and Nathan a couple outfits for summer. The girls some pants, shirts, and sweaters for next winter. I even got 9 pairs of Carhart snow pants for all the boys for next year. They went through them this year--they are following apart. I figure with the GOOD one, they won't be able to destroy them next winter.

The boys were all excited, and want them now---NO WAY!!

Tomorrow we have a mother/daughter spa night for Young Women's--me and Shannon have been growing our nails for 2 weeks now, so we can paint each others. We can't wait.

Thursday we are having a 1 year Party! Shannon, Joshua, Cassidy, Nathan, and Brenna have been a part of our family for a year now--hard to believe. We all voted for celebrating this occasion. Should be fun also!

Will post more later!

Eggs Anyone

This isn't even all of them--there are another 6 dozen in the fridge already packaged up.

It is Hannah's and Shannon's job to feed, water, and gather eggs every day from chickens and ducks. Also to keep the coop clean and dry and fresh shavings in the egg nesting boxes. They do such a wonderful job of it. Too good of a job, that now the chickens are so happy and content, and laying nearly 2 dozen eggs a day.

Even with our large family, we are not able to use up this amount of eggs. Along with eating what we can, we have been selling quite a few also. We are collecting the egg money into a jar--this will eventually take all the kids to the movies theatre this summer to see Ice Age 3. If anyone close is interested in any eggs-please let us know.

We would be happy to GIVE them to you!

(Sorry about the rest of you--I don't think they would ship all that well!)

Super Fast Update

Once again, I managed to get behind on posting. I am so far behind now, that I don't even know where to start. So I am just going to post whatever comes to my mind about the past 2 weeks. Sorry, but it might be really scattered.

• This week I have been catching up on the little things that need done around here, and have started Spring cleaning. Heaven knows with 13 kids in the house all winter, we are definitely needing it.
• Kids received their report cards and they are all doing really well with school and have adjusted right into the routine. I met with all the elementary teachers this week, and am very pleased with their progress. Older kids are all doing totally awesome and have made the honor roll.
• Elijah is now 16, and Sunday he was ordained a priest by his dad. we are all very excited about his progression in the priesthood. We know have a deacon, teacher, and priest. And in 6 months we will have another deacon--Joshua is extremely anxious to take on all the responsibilities coming up soon in his life.
• Sunday was our ward conference, and John was set apart as Young Men's President. Elijah, Zachery, Caleb, Joshua, Shannon and Hannah are all excited about this, as he will be attending their Wednesday night activities. How fun is that!!
• Last Saturday, Elijah, Zachery, and Caleb attended the stake Merit Badge College. Elijah and Caleb completed a Merit Badge (I can't remember what it was--something to do with the outdoors), and Zachery is only a 8-10 minute talk in sacrament meeting away from completing his public speaking Merit Badge. They had in Essex with this. Shannon and Hannah at the same time was attending a conference for this year's girl's camp. They are just ecstatic about being able to go together this year--they will have a blast! I am a little bumbed about not being able to go with them this year--I enjoyed last year with Shannon very much.
• Last week we finally broke down, spent a lot of money, and got 4 totally awesome tires on our van. (That was after walking it 2 times everyday!) Couldn't deal with all that exercise any longer. Now the van goes up the hill every time--so nice!! And just in time for mud season--it is nasty out there!

I am guessing that is nearly all--besides homework, homework, homework!

Most Annoying

Oreo, giving me the look after I told them all to go back to their field.

(I think he looks a little on the guilty side!)

We have a cow (Oreo), a Cotswold/Border-Leicester sheep (Patch), and a Jacob sheep (Taz). And I suppose I might as well mention Joshua's dog (Max), and our 24 chickens. These four creatures and those strange chickens are absolutely drive me crazy!! We have a small shed that the sheep are in, or should I say, they SHOULD be in. And a three-strand electric fence that the cow SHOULD be staying in. For the chickens we have a small coop, with a large fenced run for them to peck around in--that they SHOULD be in. And hey, isn't a dog suppose to be really cute, and just lay on your front porch soaking up the sun? Ok, this is New England. Let me rephrase: Isn't a dog suppose to be really cute, and just lay on your front porch.

(Forget the sun part!)

Well, not my dear little animals--we have a 'funny farm' going on around here. The sheep hop over the gate of the shed, right on time every morning --as if they were running the show. With heads held high, they prance over to the cow. They all give each other the look, and plow right through that electric fence as though it was thread. They then continue to nestle their way under the tarp which is covering the hay bales and eat their own breakfast. The dog meets them down there, and they all give each other the look again. Then they altogether head up towards the chicken shed, where they manage to get into the rabbits food. When the chickens see that they are roaming free, they get the gumption to fly over their fence and be free also. Luckily they haven't yet figured out how to lift the latch to set him free yet--I am waiting for this one to happen! Next they invade the garage, since one of the kids always seems to manage to leave the door open each night. Here they leave remains for John all over the floor and his tool boxes--which can I say, he just totally loves--NOT!! In there, they are able to eat all the chicken food and grain they want, since they have figured out how to take the lids off the cans. On their own good time, they mousy around the house, peeking in the windows, and leaving more remains around the yard. They get on the porch and look in the door to see the kid's watching TV or coloring. Do you know how bad it makes your heart jump to walk by and see a large cow in your window or at your door? It always scares me at first. But then I do have to laugh because how many people get to have a cow and sheep come knocking at their door each day.

(I am assuming only me!)

About this time I open the window and tell them to get back down to their own spot. The funny thing is that they give me a look, like they weren't doing anything wrong (you know the look--the one the kid's give you also when you catch them doing something wrong!). Then they walk away back down to their field, and pretend they never left. So annoying!! I had to vent and share a little part of our life.

Hopefully it made your day--as for me, I have to go get the sheep off the porch again.

Pinewood Derby Race

Joshua, Isaac, and Jacob have spent the last 2-3 weeks cutting, sanding, and painting their derby cars. They had a lot of fun coming up with their own unique idea, and working with their dad getting them ready for the big race. Saturday we drove 2 1/2 hours to the other side of Vermont for the boys' pinewood derby race. The whole family was excited about this, and got involved. We wore our family shirts to cheer on the boys. All three boys had smiles the whole time. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast served by the stake of pancakes with Vermont famous Maple Syrup (of course), sausage and fresh fruit. Then while the cars were being registered, weighed, and check over, we all had fun acknowledging all of the scouts there, cheering, and singing really goofy songs with Mrs. Lucy. Then the races finally began. It was fun to see the anticipation on the boy's faces as their cars were being raced. All of their cars raced well, but of course there can only be one winner for each group level of scouts. Not everyone can win. We did manage to come home with one medal. Isaac won first place in the Bear Scout level race. In my opinion--they are all winners. It was a fun day spent altogether as a family.

The Barnhart Bunch

Cute, Cute, Cute!!!

I love this. Even if I had two that I couldn't get to smile.

Can't have everything! But will keep what I do have.

Photo Tag

This is a picture of our family at the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, NY in July 2008. This year we went camping and went to the Hill Cummorah Pageant, where we high-fived Nephi, and John the baptist. (the actors of course.) Samuel got a picture taken with his Book of Mormon Hero-Samuel the Lamanite. We had a blast!

I tag Lana, Traci, Beth and Stephanie!

Here are the rules: 1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer 2) Select the 4th picture in the folder 3) Explain the picture 4) Tag 4 people to do the same NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc..)

*~*~*

Can I just say how glad I was to find that photos of my pre-exercising days were NOT in the 4th folder!! I was sacred for a few minutes!! YIKES!

My Latest Hobby

Tis' my favorite time of the year again. Time to check out all the seed catalogs, order seeds, and start them growing. I started my 42 tomato plants, 12 cauliflower, and 72 onions, herbs, and flowers last week. Some have started to come up. I love gardening!! Aren't these little baby tomatoes just so cute?!? This is my handy dandy plant stand that my sweet husband built me last year to make my life easier with starting indoor plants. He love me!! :) His new addition this year was a pulley system that moves the lights up and down. Just to the perfect growing level of my little plants. I absolutely love them. And the best thing about it is..........there are two!!! They are great at holding all my indoor and outdoor plants for the winter (also Grandma Middies), it gives them artificial sun to keep them happy.

Gonna mention also for those who are wanting to do gardens this year. There is a wonderful site I found that lets you plot your garden out, with cute little vegetable graphics. Thy are color coded, so you know what you can plant by what, and they automatically space out to proper amount. All you have to do is add the dimensions of your garden, and plop in your vegetable. Totally awesome!! We plotted our 6 gardens, the orchard, and the herb garden for this year.
www.growveg.com

New Little Garbage Man

With all the older 10 kids in school now, I have had to recruit a new crew to help me with the inside jobs. Actually I could do it by myself...but I have found out that if I get Nathan, Willem, and Brenna to help me, and stay with me.......there doesn't turn out to be a mess in the other room. Helping me around the house makes them feel so big and special......so it works for all of us. Nathan's favorite job is to Vacuum, Willem likes to change to shake out the table cloth and put out a new one. Brenna always wants to sweep. It's a good thing we have 2 brooms, I let her attempt at it, hoping she doesn't whack a lamp down or something as she seems to swing the other end of the broom around a lot. They all love to sort out the clothes, and put them in the kid's rooms. We are a good little team together.

Yesterday I asked Willem to pull the garbage bags out of the cans and put new sacks in. I didn't expect him to really be able to handle it. When he was done he came hopping to me, and says "Momma, I did it all by myself." I replied, "Good job Willem, you are such a big boy now." He then got the biggest eyes I have ever seen on him, and he says with a big grin "Ooohhhh, am I big enough for a pocket knife now?"

*~*~*

I thought that was pretty funny. He is only 4. Yet he knows when you are big, you get to carry a pocket knife like the older 4 boys. This only happens in our house when you are 11 years old, and you go through your scout knife safety class. I now know what all my little boys are looking forward to.

So Long Weeks Medical Center

Last night was John's last night to work up at Week's Medical Center. This is a small little hospital in Lancaster, NH. John worked Per Diem up there for 6 years now, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. This helped us to stay on top of the bills. The hospital is cutting back on hours and employees, so John was let go. We have mixed emotions about this right now. But we are extremely all thrilled with having him home weekend nights now. That will be great, and take some of the pressure off of me. John is even more excited to spend time with the 13 kids, and to do a few projects around the house that have been put off. It is a good thing!!

Snow Day

We got a bunch more snow last night. It was like a blizzard out, the way the wind was blowing so hard. By morning, the whole layout of the snow was completely different. Snow had drifted every which way. Needless to say that school was cancelled today while everyone gets unburied. Good news though, our phone finally came back on. The kids didn't mind one more day off from school! They were out bright an early this morning doing their outside animals so they would have lots of time to sled and play. We kind of had a lazy and enjoyable day of playing games, coloring, and watching movies. We made a bunch of dough up for scones--to nights dinner, with hot chocolate. This should keep the kids content and quiet so we can have Family Home Evening at the same time. It's been a good and relaxing day.

Klondike Derby

Elijah, Zachery, Caleb and Joshua attended the Klondike Derby yesterday in Vermont. They all have been excited about this for months now. The older three boys have explained how their troop had one last year, and anything else Joshua would need to know about this big day. They couldn't wait. They have spent the past 3 weeks at scout meetings building their troop sled.

(I personally thought it was a little on the whanny side.........but it seemed to do the job none the less.) All the kids had high hopes of winning again this year....especially the sled race.

~*~

From what I hear, there are many events. Fire building, first aid accidents, compass tests, etc. But I think they all like it because of the sled race. The sled has to carry certain items that the boys will need during the relay. And it has to be pulled by the boys. Elijah worked out for 2 weeks, so he would be strong enough to take the lead. To make a long story short, they won the race by a few minutes I have been told. As for the overall totals on all the events, there was a 3 way tie between troops. So our troop, and 2 others were presented with awards. Elijah received it for our troop. They were all extremely proud!! And we have decided that Elijah must be part Siberian Husky. Part of the time he pulled the sled by himself. He is a go-getter!

~*~

I have to mention also that Joshua's smallness finally paid off. Our troop had a little advantage with him now being part of our troop. They used him to pull on the sled, to carry in the broken leg event, and to pull on some plastic, like a log. Joshua didn't seem to mind--he had a blast. He was all full of smiles when he come home and was telling me all about his wonderful day.

Quick Update

Because I have had a hard time posting this week, I will give a quick update. Things have been pretty busy around here with the kids home for winter break this week. They go back to school on Monday, so it should calm down a little around here.

Things that have gone on around our house:

• I gave all 10 boys haircuts--I found cute little faces under all that hair.
• Zachery got sick with the cough and fever.
• John and the 4 older kids went to the temple for baptisms for the dead in Boston.
• John's car fell apart along the road--he did collect the pieces and put it back together.
• Jacob got sick with the cough and fever.
• Cassidy got sick with the cough and fever.
• John got let go of his 2nd job.
• Our baby calf Twix died--no idea why.
• Kid's had dentist check-ups this week.
• Brenna got sick with cough and fever.
• Joshua, Isaac, and Jacob have been working on their Scout Derby Cars.
• Elijah, Zachery, Caleb, and Joshua participated in Scout Klondike Derby in Vermont.
• Nathan go sick with cough and fever.
• We turned the school room back into a family room.
• Elijah and Zachery had fun snowmobiling at a friends house.
• John and Elijah are giving talks tomorrow in church.

That about sums it all up around here for this week. We are looking forward to another big snowstorm tomorrow after church. Maybe the kids will get an extra day off to do more sledding!

Celebrating Love in Our Family

I LOVE our little Family!

We had a fun and wonderful Valentines Day all 15 of us together as a family. One could hear the laughter, see the smiles, and feel the love. What more could anyone want.

We wouldn't change a thing!

Four Girls

Always Together--Never Apart

Zachery's 15th Birthday

Last week was Zach's birthday. He turned 15 years old. He didn't want much for his birthday except for a couple little things for his guitar, and a carrot cake. He is a tough one to figure out what to get him. He is content with what he has, and doesn't expect much. He is a good kid! I took him with me one day to look around Walmart to give him ideas. We looked through the while store twice but he couldn't think of what he needed. So, I got him a card, and we gave him cash for his birthday instead. We did get him a couple small things though which he enjoyed. He loved his giant bag of wintergreen lifesavers--a MUST for all of Zachery's birthday. He also liked his guitar strap, and bluegrass tab book. He has a good night considering he was sick, and we were rushed due to school. We love you Zachery Daniel!

Our Newest Addition

Our newest addition is a super cute little brown jersey calf. He is now just over a couple weeks old. We have high hopes of teaching this little guy to drink straight from the bucket this weekend. Because we got him the day before Shannon's Birthday, she asked if she could have him and take care of him. And that is what happened, he is hers to take care of since all the rest of the kids have an animal to take care of.

Shannon took on the morning and afternoon jobs of feeding the baby calf.

We named this little guy Twix, since that is Shannon's favorite candy bar.

Blankets for Levi and Tucker

Lana has PATIENTLY (well, all except for the past 2 weeks that is....lol) been waiting for me to finally get around to making these blankets for her twins. Well, I finally did it! I finally accomplished something. They turned out pretty cute...I am excited to see pics of the boys in them. I had to post the pic so Lana would believe me that they were on their way. Hope you like them Lana!

Happy Birthday Shannon Cha Cha Cha

Believe it or not, we finally actually celebrated a birthday on it's real day. Shannon just had her 13th birthday. We now officially have 4 teenagers in our house. WOW!! For her birthday we had our first picnic of the year. We had green grass (tablecloth, and blue sky(blue crate paper)..........and it was even sunny (yellow pinata)!!! The flowers were blooming just for her special day. It was a perfect day for a picnic. Jumpy and his other ladybug friends even came out to join us (red balloons). We had Hoggie sandwiches, watermelon and fruit salad, chips, and soda. The kids all ate their food while we all had pleasant conversation and wiggled to the tunes of the Beach boys in the background. We had so much fun--we really can't wait for summer now, to have an outside picnic, and go to the ocean again.
~~
After dinner, Shannon opened her gifts. Shannon is easy to please, and she loved all her gifts. Possibly the Twix candy bars was her favorite, seeing as she nearly ate the whole bag in one day. I warned her about being a teenager now....she wouldn't want all that chocolate to go straight to her hips.......lol. Then we had a fun time of TRYING to break the Pinata. I did too good of job at my gluing........they couldn't break it open. They did manage to make a whole heck of alot of dents in it though. After everyone had a turn, I ended up just ripping it open for them. We let them have 3 pieces each, and the rest went in a big bowl. The plan is that every night after they get their homework done, they get to choose 2 pieces each. I know--bribery! (Hey, whatever works!)
~~
Then we went back to the dining room for the cake. We sung Happy Birthday to her (adding on the Cha Cha Cha part at the end--that got a big smile from her!). She blew out all the candle, and we were all happy to know that there are no boyfriends to be had....all the candles went out!
It was a great night....and they were all sugared out. Shannon and I stayed up together and played her new game of Mancala a few times and watched her new DVD "Holes" together. What fun!

Totally Completely Sour

Shannon was brave and decided to try one of the extremely Sour War Head candies from her Birthday Pinata. This is how it went.

Guess you had to be here to totally enjoy the scene. It was too funny! The different sounds that came from her, were better then the pictures.

Afterschool Homework

After school, at our house is literally mass confusion. Backpacks are thrown in the backroom, boots, gloves, hats, snow pants, coats all come off, and are thrown on the ground. Kid's scatter to play. It takes me a good while to gather everyone back up each day to get them to take responsibility of their things, and to get them put back away right. I then have everyone bring me all the papers from their backpacks, including notes, quizzes, art papers, permission slips, homework, etc. I end up with a counter full. One look at the old papers, and quizzes just to see how they are progressing, and they are in the garbage. Permission slips are signed and back in bags. Kids let me know what homework each has, so I am able to question them each later to make sure it was all finished. Then we divide up into different areas of the house to get the homework done.

~~

Hannah and Joshua (notice his glasses in the picture) usually work together since they are in the same grade. This seems to work for them, usually if one didn't catch on to something, the other one did, and they can explain it. Caleb and Shannon pretty much work separately, seeing that they work at their own pace. Each one has their strong and weak points. But if needed they are very willing to help each other out. (Last night Caleb helped Shannon with her Science an Stocks, and Shannon helps Caleb with his poems and Typing.) Cassidy, Isaac, Samuel, and Jacob work on their own, with no needed help. Zachery is pretty good about getting all his work done--unless it comes to reports. And Elijah only needs help with his Algebra.........which he waits for John to come home to help him with that one. It is a slightly stressful first hour after school. But somehow......everyday we manage to get all 10 kid's homework finished.

There's Something in Our House

I spent the better part of yesterday convincing Miss Brenna to put her sock on, or better yet, to KEEP her sock on, since I had put them on her over a dozen times. (The girl just likes to be barefoot!) Towards the afternoon, I had given up on trying to convince her.

~~

Just before I was to go pick ups the kids from school, I hopped in the shower. Brenna was hanging out in our gigantic bathroom, playing cars on the round braided rug. Next I hear a shriek and a little bit of banging .

"Momma, Momma, there's something in our house!"

"It needs to get out of here!"

"It's going to kill me!"

"But it can't get me."

I looked out of the shower, and sure enough she was up on the stool (that explained the banging)....she was not about to get off that stool either! I asked her what it was that she saw.

"It was a tiny cute mouse."

"It ran in the kitchen."
"I better hurry and get my socks on, so it don't eat my toes."

And that was all it took. she grabbed more socks, and had them on in literally 10 seconds. She kept them on the rest of the day. Soooooo, this morning, I told her to put her socks on, so the mouse won't nibble on her toes. Her socks have remained on all morning so far. Who knew it was that easy.

This is the Way We Go to School

Well it finally happened......what we have been dreading for 2 1/2 weeks now. We had a rather large storm yesterday.......although it didn't turn out to be what they anticipated.......it still did leave a significant amount of snow on our road. (We are in trouble when we get the slightest skiff of snow--let alone 8".) I picked the kids up from school, knowing there was no way to get that van back up the road to the house. My first thought was--"Man, I wish I hadn't already exercised!!!" But once you are down that hill, you don't have a choice but to walk back up.

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I was smart and brought the older kids boots for them--since they are too cool to wear them too school. I was also nice, and let them all leave their heavy backpacks in the van. I just wanted them all to be all be able to get themselves up that hill.........I wasn't about to carry anyone of them. My plan was that since John was actually going to be coming home at 5 pm for once, he could stop and throw them in his car to bring them up. They all had homework to do. We made it up in an hour. Not bad considering those boys of mine can't even stay on the road--they have to go exploring. Samuel had a hard time of it.......tired, plus on the the edge of getting sick. He made a few cute comments on the way up. "Mom, I'm going to die!" "Why don't you be nice and carry me." "I seriously need a good rest!" And the best one yet; we had made it only half way up when he looked at Jacob and says "Go run up that hill, and see what's on the other side, then come back and tell me." I had to laugh and told him that it was only another hill. This completely wore him out--he was in a mood the rest of the night.

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Come 6 pm, John comes walking in the door all sweaty and out of breath........lol............he isn't the one who ever has to walk the hill........so this was a shock to his body. His car was stuck at the bottom of the hill with all the back packs in it. Needless to say, the kids got a night off. Just as well, they all sat around watching a movie because they were so worn out. It was a very calm and good night. So either one of two things need to happen...........we need to have the kids walk the hill every night, or we do away with the homework!! They both seem to make it peaceful around here.

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This morning, we obviously had to walk down the hill to get to the van to go to school. The kids had fun with it this time. For some reason, downhill is easier then uphill we have all decided. As for the homework deal, I guess we will find out tonight what he teachers say with that. Below are some pictures of our trek down the hill this morning. There isn't any of Caleb and Cassidy, as they ran way ahead of us.........and had to wait in the van at the bottom for us.

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Oh, I have to mention for those who don't already know where we live. We live 1.3 miles up on top of a hill. It has 3-4 pretty steep hills, the rest is a casual grade. Takes about 45-60 minutes to walk up, and about 30 minutes to walk and slightly jog down it. The majority of winter we do park at the bottom, especially if we know it is going to storm. And during the mud season, it is always at the bottom, WE LOVE IT!!! (not)

Can I just tell you how sore my muscles are from exercising yesterday and walking up, plus walking down today. I am debating on whether to exercise today......because I still have to walk up one more time tonight with the kids again. Aagghhh!

Slight Problem

Ok, I have a slight problem that just might stand in the way of accomplishing this exercise problem!! I just took the 40 minute fit test. You are suppose to pass this before you even think of beginning this program. Good news is that I did pass all but one of them. I missed the squats test by like 20 sec. I definitely have more upper body strength. (Must be from packing kids around for 16 years.) Bad thing is that my muscles are shaking like crazy, and I have been done with it for over an hour now. How pathetic is that. What scares me the most is that the little test I just took, is nothing like the 12 DVD's in the program. I am NOT going to be able to keep up. YIKES!!!

Today's the Day

It has been over nine months since I stopped exercising at the gym and dancing with my husband. (13 kids=no time) My body has dearly paid for this. I have gained back everything that I had lost 2 years ago while Hiking with my friend Sally. With the kids back in school, and me having more free time, I have made a 3 month goal. I have taken measurements, and done all the figuring. (Even before photos--which I will not post for your benefit!) Today is the day I start. I need to do this for myself plus the kids. I hope I can stick to it. I guess I have to pull the JoAnn thing, and not eat any candy for a while. (Bye Bye Skittles!)

This is the program I am going to use.

Boy Scout Troop 735, Lyndon Vermont

COURT OF HONOR

Out of the 11 Scouts in Troop 735, 7 of them received rank advancements at this Court of Honor.
Awarded were: 1 Bronze Eagle Palm, 1 Life, 2 Star (Elijah & Zachery), 1 First Class (Caleb) and 2 Scout ranks (Joshua). A total of 14 merit badges were also awarded.

Back Row: Robert Dunoskovic-Assistant Leader for 11 year olds, William Dunoskovic-Assistant Scoutmaster, Gabe Whitcomb-Paulson-Tenderfoot, Sam Whicomb-Paulson-Eagle Scout, Andrew Dunoskovic-Life Scout, Zach Cochran-Star Scout, Kyle Anstead-Life Scout, Hunter Gregory-Eagle Scout, Mark Burkholder-Scout Master
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Front Row: Caleb Barnhart-First Class, Zachery Barnhart-Star Scout, Joshua Rollo-Scout, Elijah Barnhart-Star Scout
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Not pictured: Isaac Dunoskovic-Scout

My Smart Boy

Willem has been my buddy today. He has been by my side all day. We have had great conversation today; or should I say he has. He has been jabbering all day. I have said a few "OK's" here and there---he has done all the talking. Here's pieces of his thoughts being expressed for about 5 minutes.

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"I'm a smart boy mom."

"I know who made you." "Jesus did."

"Jesus has good manners, huh?"

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"Jesus lives in Heaven." "Heaven is way up high"

"I need Dad's great big ladder to get to Heaven."

"I will put it back though." "That is good manners, huh?"

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"When I was a baby, I didn't poop or pick my nose."

"Or did I poop?" "But not pick my nose." "Noooo, that's bad manners, huh?"

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"A Mom cooks, and a Dad goes to work." "Dad goes to school fast."

"I want to cook when I am big."

"You could go to work." "I could go with you, that would be fun."

"Nooo, you need to stay home to cook for me!"

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Willem actually sat there for nearly an hour talking to me. I can't even begin to remember all that he said. It was all I could do not to laugh at him, and his little thoughts. He is a doll!!

Downfalls of Public School

This weekend I thought again about a few of the reasons why we were homeschooling, beside the fact that it protects the kids from being exposed to a lot of the bad stuff in the world. The other reasons came to light over the past week.

1. With the snow, we have a really hard time getting up and down our 1.5 mile hill. We have managed to keep the kid's from walking it so far, but I had to walk up and down it a few times last week. So not fun!!! We are going to a school bus meeting this week.....we are going to push to have them pick up the kids at the house. (Might not work--but can't hurt to ask, right?)

2. The homework--absolutely ridiculous! Ten kids come home, throw all their papers at me to read, and look over. Then we spend the next 4 hours, trying to work though every one's homework. (Along with cleaning jobs, animals, firewood, baths, and dinner--that doesn't even count any time for just being together.) I miss the family time.

3. The kids have now been exposed to a variety of germs. This weekend, everyone started with slight coughing, runny noses, and a few sore throats. I have a feeling we are going to all be sick for a while--till it spread through everyone.

Isaac is the first to be absent from school this week. He has sore throat, cough, runny nose, and a temperature of 103 degrees. Wonder who will be next?!?

My Elijah

MY GOOD LOOKING GUYS!!

MY OLDEST AND YOUNGEST BABIES!

Elijah's 16th Birthday

Elijah will be 16 years old this week. Wow!!! Time goes by pretty fast. We celebrated his birthday last night since this is a busy week for us (and of course, we wanted Dad to be here!). We are starting a new tradition--yes another one! We have decided that when someone reaches their 16th Birthday, whatever they liked when they were approximately 3 years old, will be the theme for their party. So, for Elijah's birthday, we had a Barney theme.

Elijah wanted Pasta for his Birthday Dinner. I asked him what else, and he said more "More Pasta!". So, I made Italian, Caesar, and Ranch Pasta, but also added in the Pizza. (Caesar ruled!) Of course Elijah only ate the Pasta though. While we ate, we followed through our other tradition of going around the table and saying why we liked the birthday person. Here are the things that were mentioned about Elijah.

Elijah is Super -d- Duper because:

• Joshua-He is fun to play with, and go exploring with
• Hannah-He is really fun, and a good tickler.
• Shannon-He is a great older brother, someone to look up to, fun to play with, and give good piggy-back rides.
• Samuel-He is nice to me.
• Caleb-He is fun to play cards & Basketball with. He's a good leader & fun to go on hikes with.
• Cassidy-He tickles me, and he is cute.
• Nathan-He gives piggy-back rides somedays to me.
• Jacob-He pushes us around in the snow, and because he is my brother.
• Brenna-Cause he gives me rides, even when Mom says No.
• Zachery-He is funny & fun to play Basketball with, and he's mischievous.
• Isaac-He messes around with us, and throws us in the snow.
• Willem-He tickles me, and holds me upside down.
• Mom-He is strong & capable of doing nearly anything. He is patient and gets along with everyone. He is my good friend.
• Dad-He has a good sense of humor, and a calm demeanor, and he brings music into the home.

He had a good birthday. He liked the big bag of Jolly Ranchers the most--but hasn't taken off the sweatshirt.......so we are guessing he liked that also. His goal is to look like the guy on the exercise box. (If he does...I will surely be posting that picture in the future......lol) We are so glad to have Elijah in our family......and are sad to think he is only 3 years away from leaving for a mission. Oh, and I have to mention--Elijah was totally a good sport about the Barney theme. The rest of the kids are already planning their 16th birthdays.

Weekend Fun in the Snow

Although Saturday was still slightly on the chilly side, all the kids couldn't stay inside any longer. They have been longing for 2 weeks to get outside and play. Elijah and Zach had their new friend Isaac over (Sierra's brother). They went on a 2 1/2 hour snowshoe trek through the woods. I think they got a little worn out towards the end.

Caleb, Joshua, Isaac, and Jacob had some fun at home sledding down the hill off the back of the house. Meanwhile, Cassidy and Samuel worked on transferring snow from one pile to the next--for some reason they enjoyed this for nearly 2 hours. Willem stood around eating snow with Nathan. Brenna lasted a total of 5 minutes out, and then wanted to come in and rock with me. It took me 10 minutes to dress her---I still don't understand the point of it all--but she was pleased that she went out at least.

Hannah, Shanon, Cassidy, and Sierra had some fun at Remnick Park in Littleton. They went Ice Skating then went out for Chinese food. Then back to Sierra's house for some more sled riding. (I will post pics soon of the girls.)

It seems everyone had fun. We are hoping we got the outside snow fun out of their systems for a bit.......allowing us to make it through another week of school.

Me and Cassidy

Cassidy sat on my lap telling me that her and I are just alike. There are two things that Cassidy thinks are pretty neat --when it comes to her and I. First, is the fact that when I curl her hair and pull it up, it looks just like mine. Second, is the fact that she has the same little turned up nose as I do. She thinks we look just alike, and is just so excited about this. I don't quite understand why she thinks this is so great. None the less, I have decided to let her keep on humoring me for a while longer.

Three Goofy Cowboys

Last night, we had sent all the kids upstairs to get ready for bed before family prayer. Everyone seemed to manage to do just that except for the three pictured below. They eventually came down the stairs. They had dressed up in their western clothes with scout bandannas. They thought they were just so funny, and were just giggling at themselves. We questioned them as to why they didn't get ready for bed, and all three replied "We did!!!" With that they ripped open their shirts to reveal their pajamas underneath. What goofs!

Joshua, Jacob, and Isaac

Fixed by Tonight

This morning I had an appointment to get our van looked at for a third time. (bumber because with no school, I wanted to sleep in!) Let me explain our van's problem a little first, or should I say problems?

1. the reverse lights don't work
2. neither driver nor passenger windows roll down or up (luckily at the moment they are up)
3. there's a hole in the muffler (the boy's all think the noise it creates is pretty cool)
4. both front tires wheel bearing are making noise (yes again!!!)
5. tires desperately need rotating (even better would be to put new winter studded tires on)
6. when it's cold outside it will not go out of park (needs warmed up for 20-30 min first)
7. driver's door is always locked
8. oil still needs changed from last summer
9. when you go down hill or turn right the 'check gages' light dings on and the oil pressure completely drops down to nothing.
10. engine light is always on
11. the heater blower is about ready to die (it makes the most unusual crude noises)
12. for nearly 4 weeks now we have been driving at a speed of 10-30 mph (no power)

Personally, I think we should dig a big hole and bury it!!!

Can't happen though--it's winter, and the ground is completely frozen. So anyway, we are most concerned about the no power issue--I might as well be driving a horse and buggy around......lol. (I always thought it would be pretty neat to be Amish!) We have tried different places and have gotten different opinions. One said fuel pump, one didn't' know, and the third today said it was the catalytic converter and the oxygen sensors. (Only $2000 to fix that one problem) That ain't happening!!! (Sorry about my Grammar Middie!)

So, to fix a few of the problems, John decided to take it over to a friend's house who has a nice, big (will easily fit our gigantic van in) , warm garage. Our plan is to cut off the converter, take a big metal rod and clean it out; leaving a big hole that can no longer become blocked. Then he is going to weld it all back together, along with the new muffler. He will also change the oil, and hopefully rotate the tires, and fix the reverse lights. Then once again, we will take it to our mechanic, and have him figure out just which oxygen sensors really need place. (as to not have to buy all 4) Sounds like a great plan, huh? Won't pass the emissions test after this, but because it has a truck frame we don't have to do that anyway. Whoo-hoo I am so excited to be able to drive a little faster next week!!!

I told him if he got that done and there was time, he could stop at the Backshed for a while and play his banjo with the group. So I suppose I will see him tomorrow.....lol

Not Much to Post

There hasn't been much to post lately with the kids in school. It has actually been pretty boring around here all week long. Although I won't let onto the kids yet, but it has been pretty nice to have little time of my own. (I have guilt for even thinking that) The kids all did well this week with our new schedule, and all the adjustments. I was even able to get up early---I know you are amazed Sally......lol. Homework after school went very well considering there were 9 kids with homework. Zachery is #1 for having the most, and definitely for taking the longest to complete.

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Thursday was their last day of school this week, and man were they all wound up that night. I could not get them to settle down. I was thinking of being a nice mom and letting them stay up to watch a movie since there was no school of Friday. I hate to say this, but I couldn't handle the noise of all 13 kids. I sent them all to bed at their normal weekday bedtime. I think I am to quickly getting used to and enjoying the quiet a little too much. They have a 4 day weekend, so I am sure I will get used to the chaos again----lol.

Quiet at Home

WOW!! I am utterly speechless. Truly amazing how quiet it is around my house today. It is actually quite boring. I already went to Walmart, cleaned up every room, made lunch for the little ones, went through the mail..........I don't know what else to do or the next 3 hours. *~~*~~*

Things went really well this morning with getting everyone ready. I was a little worried with trying to get all 13 kids ready so early in the morning. It all ran very smoothly. We had the kids all pull out their clothes for the next day, and set their backpacks with shoes and their snack, coat, boots, snow pants, hat & gloves all in a pile so it would be ready in the morning. That seems to work well, besides the fact, that all those piles take up one whole backroom.

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John gave all the children school/comfort blessings last night. They were all wonderful. We hope they comforted any fears and anxiety they were feeling with this new change in their lives. The kids will do fine I am sure. It s me that I am concerned about. I am not a morning person at all--so I now need to work on getting up early. And I am also a little concerned of the homework each night. A few couple kids wouldn't be that bad, but I have to make sure all 10 kids understand it, and actually get it done. Guess we will find out how this is going to work out tonight.

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Well, I think I will go find an unfinished project to work on from last year. Oh better yet....maybe I will start on the twins' baby blankets, that I promised to make Lana last June. (Now there's a thought!!)

Our Night Out

John and I had a chance to get out tonight for a while. First time in a while. The hospital that he works out was having their Holiday Dinner Party. The invite came a month or so ago--John was able to go for free, but it was going to cost me $25. A couple weeks after the invite came, we received a second invite tot he same party from the Doctors office, where he works at nights. They offered to pay for both of our seats. BONUS!!

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We got all dressed up in the nicest clothes we own (that would be our church clothes....lol) and hoped that we would blend in with the New England crowd. This was held at the Maplewoods Resort in Bethlehem. John dropped me off at the entrance so I wouldn't have to walk from the parking area.....what a gentleman. It was like a dream........the ambiance........the cocktails........ the dinner..........the dancing. Alright, alright...........we didn't drink any cocktails (we stuck with the water), and we left after the band played a couple of songs........never danced because we were anxious to get home to the kids. We are pathetic...........one of these times out we are going to stay for a whole dance like last New Years Eve, and Swing Dance the night away.

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We did have a wonderful time out, just watching all the people though. We totally felt out of place. We left in our little, noisy, clunky, smelly Ford Aspire, and hit the grocery store in our high heels, to get a mountain dew and skittles. I have decided that I am a lot more comfortable with a warm fire and blanket, a movie, my dew and skittles, and my hubby any day.

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Oh and hey...........we won the raffle ticket prize. Surprise, surprise. We got a Sony Playstation 2.

Although we aren't to sure yet what to do with it.

Eye Doctor Exams

Today we had eye doctor appointments for me, Elijah, Hannah, and Joshua. My glasses had gotten stepped on a few months back are are needing replaced, Elijah used to rear glasses for his studies when he was younger and needed a check-up, Hannah read with her face right in the book, and Joshua's eyes get tired and the words get blurry after a little while of reading. So I had scheduled this appointment to find out what is going on with everyone. The kids have been excited to go for over a month now. The exams showed that I need a new prescription, so that was an easy fix. Elijah could use reading glasses if he wanted to, but of course he doesn't want to. Hannah has perfect vision-surprise surprise! She just reads with a book in her face for the fun of it I guess. And Joshua needs glasses for reading and for his studies also. He is extremely excited and we had fun picking the perfect frames out. He came home not saying "I have to have glasses" but instead said "I get to have glasses". Although he does seem a little to excited about the case--I hope the glasses actually stay in the case!

Our Blog

Before I post any further I have to say a few things. I have been told that things I have posted on my blog are hurtful. I have spent the day reading through my blog entries.......and personally I do not find them to be hurtful to anyone. I see them as actually being very general in content, and positive. Our blog is to share with friends and family the going on's in our life and family, and to share our experiences. Also, since we are a distance from some people, to share a few pictures.

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This is our families lives, and our experiences. This is our journal, and our blog. We do not have the perfect lives. We have good things and bad things happen to us, just as everyone else does. We are not afraid to share our feelings, experiences, or daily events.

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If anyone is not liking what I write, or what they are reading, my advice to you is to:

QUIT READING OUR BLOG!

Like it or not, this is what our family is living. We are happy with our lives, and the directions we are taking as we go day to day. We would not openly try to offend or hurt anyone. It is up to us to call things, people, and places as we see it. One more thing..........I am not held responsible for other's peoples comments to our blog.......they are calling it as they see it.

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Only you can make the choice to be offended.

At This Point in Time

A couple days ago, we had a certain phone call that has us contemplating a few things. At this point in time.......we are unsure of the actual sincerity and/or intent of the whole phone call in itself, to say the least. We have re-listened to the recorded conversation, and we are not totally agreeing with everything that was discussed. Right now....we will let it be known, that we will not be moved with our intentions and goals pertaining to the five extra children we have. We are still "Trusting our Feelings", if anyone would like to revert back to that post. What is yet to happen with this whole situation, is unknown at this point. That one conversation did not or will not change the outcome.

Major Decision

Today, we made a major decision. This will be a little shocking to most of you. Some of you will be very thrilled to hear this. After having had much discussion, thought and prayer we have decided this would be best for our whole family at this point in time. Despite our nervousness of this decision, it will be good for the kids.

We have decided to enroll all 10 children in school.

My heart feels a little heavy with the thoughts of not having the children at home with me during the day. Yet another part of me is relieved and anxious to have a little part of my life back during the day. Hmmmm....go to the gym, paint, sew, scrapbook, play with the younger 3 still at home.......what choices I will have. Everyday will bring a new adventure.....lol.

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Elijah will be in High School. Zachery, Caleb, and Shannon will be in Middle School. Hannah, Joshua, Isaac, Jacob, Cassidy, and Samuel will be in Elementary School. The kids were all a little upset at first, but over the day they got used to the idea. Now they are all very excited to start. They couldn't talk about it enough tonight. We have already grouped each one up with a partner, so they can watch over each other. All 10 of them will ride the bus to and from school together, even though they will be going to 3 different schools. I am glad of this.....they are strong in numbers...nobody will mess with them.

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I enrolled them all today, so they will begin next week. And you know what is funny? The Principal told me, that for a while, I will have to drive them to school, and pick them all up after, because the town will have to get a new larger bus. They are not able to pick up 10 more kids.

(I had to laugh!)

Yet Another Use for our Table

A Sunday afternoon event.........table ping pong. John got this for Christmas. When we were first married, and our first Christmas together we got a smaller ping-pong set to play with each other across our tiny little table. After many years, we finally got one again--only larger for our big humongous table. The boys seem to all enjoy it--I still find my computer a little more fascinating, but I promise to humor John once in a while.

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Maybe I will even be nice and let him win!

Fun in the Kitchen

Cassidy began the new year off just right with a friend and some food. She spent the day playing, the night sleeping (we hope), and the next day baking. From the pictures it looked like she had wonderful fun time. She came home a little on the tired side, but was extremely proud of her creations. She shared her little cupcakes with everyone.

Happy New Year

A little behind on posting again-busy, busy, busy I suppose. We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate the new year. The girls had their friend Sierra over for the night. We had hotdogs, chips and dip, soda pop, and ice cream sherbert. The little kids went to bed as usual, and we let Cassidy and Sierra stay up a bit to play a couple games. I also let Jacob and Isaac stay up till about 10, which they were pleased about, but can't wait till they are 10 to be able to stay up till midnight. All the rest of the kids stayed up and watched movies till midnight with their favorite treat. We are so boring I know, we will start preparing for next year--maybe we can do something more fun with the kids.