Kangling Year in Review

{Chloe (9), Hannah (8), Rachel (13), Lilly (3), Autumn (11), and Elise (5)}

This year has been a very eventful one for the Kanglings full of crazy trips and sport seasons.

So here is the girls' year in review:

Rachel: Rachel lives for Starfish and is going back in February to spend a month there with her grandma. She played forward this year in soccer and had a lot of fun. She also played Unified Sports this year for soccer and basketball and really enjoyed that. Her biggest accomplishment this year was completing her Personal Progress award for church (similar to the eagle scout).

Autumn: Autumn got to go to South Korea this year and really enjoyed it. She is progressing in photography and takes amazing pictures (lots of them). She played defense in soccer and had a fun year with her team (your worst nightmares). She is still the comedian of the family and always makes us laugh. She loves reading and when she has a book you won't be seeing her until she finishes the whole thing. She also found a recent love for Shakespeare.

Chloe: Chloe plays the piano like crazy and is now playing hymns and primary songs. We constantly find her picking out songs from all of Rachel's books. She played soccer this year with Chris as her coach. She played forward and was one of the top scorers on her team. Chloe's been doing a lot of sewing and knitting and made a lot of cute things to put in fair this year.

Hannah: Hannah turned 8 this year and was baptized. She still loves horses and has been reading books about them like crazy. We've found her reading out of a horse encyclopedia and she knows about every type of horse there is. :) She started book 2 in piano this year. She had a fun soccer season and was her team's goalie. When schedules didn't conflict she played for Chris' team.

Elise: Elise believes she is the queen of the family. She loves making pies with her "pie maker (Rachel)". She started reading this year and always is excited when she can pick out a word. She's learning piano really quickly now and is learning songs every week. She loves posing for the camera and listening to her sisters read aloud classics to her. (a Kangling first)

Lilly: Lilly is our cuddle-bug and loves to give hugs and kisses. She loves Hello Kitty and is always pretending to be a little kitty and goes around on her hands and knees, meowing. She loves when people read her books and always comes to you with a pile of about 10 books at a time and has to have you read them all, unless you can distract her.

Lilly was being a little silly during our family pictures this year

and in every picture she was making a face similar to this.

tooth fairy shenanigans and more

Elise, our wimpiest Kangling that takes after her mother, lost her first tooth today with minimal drama. (we have been warning her for a week that it will bleed and that she doesn't need to cry about it.) I can't wait for her to lose a few more teeth as she has had the most cavities of all of our girls. I like to blame it on Chris' stroke, her sneaky nature and on the lack of a pantry door lock. (which we did end up purchasing eventually.) Anyway, I would love for those teeth to fall out and for us to get a new start on her mouth. And typing this lovely blog post has reminded me that I better go off and do my motherly tooth fairy duties. Our family hasn't required a visit from the tooth fairy for a while so I suspect that my eldest daughter might be out of practice when it comes to covering my rear. You know the routine. Mom forgets, daughter distracts tooth fairy client, daughter fills in for the oh so sloppy and forgetful tooth fairy, mom wakes up.

Other exciting family news? Our banana is getting baptized this weekend. It got moved up to October from November, which made us all extra happy. Hannah has been counting down for so long that it was a fun bonus to have it come even sooner. The only bad part of this rescheduling was that my mom had a not so lovely surgery last week. This not only prevented her from making the traditional baptism dress, but it also might prevent her from coming. We are hoping that she can make it, but we also don't want her put at any risks for blood clots and what not just to come down. We're excited to have lots of family join us (Mike and his fabulous new wife are coming, along with Beth and James!) but we're pretty disappointed that Lia isn't hauling all 6 kids cross country for the big day. :) Just kidding, Lia. But we are sad that she lives too far away to come to our little family gatherings anymore. Changes stink. It will still be a lovely day, just a little quieter. (in a sad way, Lia!!)

Side note: our Bishop brought this picture to our attention...doesn't it look a lot like our Hannah, complete with personality?

Hannah's beach

Clarification: You are really invited to my little birthday party. I am getting everything ready for a very crafty/fun party. Come one, come all. (unless you are a crazy person of sorts, although mildly crazy is accepted so that people like myself can come. Also, sorry to be discriminatory, but no boys are allowed.)

Hannah has been struggling with water for almost a year now. (not the drinking type, but the bodies of water type. Oceans, lakes, etc...) This started the week after Chris' stroke when the family took the girls to the beach as a diversion of sorts. I am pretty sure that it was related to a certain lack of security that comes with not knowing what is going to happen to your dad. Tie that in with being old enough to suddenly realize that bad things can happen to you and you have a major fear of water. It started out with her going into this unreal crying to herself "I just want to go home. home sweet home. Take me home!" Through many run-ins with water, we have made slow progress. We bribed her to go on a canoe in a lake. (Pet Society time, ice cream AND 5 "my littlest petshop" toys) We explained high tides and low tides and eventually got her okay clamming in bays. We got her to play in the dry sand instead of crying the whole time we were at the beach. Let's just say that it has been a long summer. ;) Fast forward to this past Saturday.

A dear friend was visiting Oregon and there was need for a quick trip to see the ocean. Ironically, we went to the beach that this whole hydrophobia started. As we were coming out of the tunnel that leads to the beach, Hannah announced to me that this beach should be called "Scary Beach" because of the big waves and that she wanted to go to a bay. I told her I thought it should be called pretty beach and carried on. She kept asking if we could leave and I finally distracted her with some sand castle making. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her sneak up to the water line. Then we saw her get her toes wet and boy was she proud of herself! Before long, she was jumping waves with the bunch of them and left the beach completely soaks. I am so proud of her for overcoming this and it was such a great feeling to have her complain when it was time to leave! Since summer is coming to an end, I promised her another beach trip this week so she can really enjoy it. The bad news? Elise was scared just because Hannah was. Now I have two more kids to keep from drowning. Dang. The good news? Hannah and I decided that it is now to be known as "Hannah's beach". I personally think that has a nicer ring to it than "Lost Boy's Beach". Who came up with that?

Where are the pictures? On Jennifer's camera, probably somewhere in between Wyoming and Arkansas. Hopefully on here soon because they were cute.

banana girl

Our little Banana gets up first thing in the morning, gets dressed and subsequently hops into bed with me for the 2nd half of her night of sleep. This morning, I woke up to the soft snores of a cuddly five year old. She slept. and slept. and slept. When Chloe came in, Hannah popped up and immediately informed Chloe that she woke up WAY before her. (let's just forget the whole going back to sleep for a few hours thing, right?) Apparently, this is a competition.

your in big troubl, littl missy.

Today whil Hannah was using hr 10 minuts of Pt Socity, Rachl cam and told m that sh had droppd th kyboard.  Knockd th  ky right off, braking th littl mchanism undr th ky.  Chris thinks supr glu might fix it, but until thn I was stuck to my own dvics for blogging.  So hr it is.  Ys, th  ky is vry important.  Cutst part of it all was at dinnr whn I was tlling Chris about it.  Hannah said, in a vry irritatd ton, "Just in cas you wr wondring, I fll today, too." But sh got lucky whn sh fll.  Sh didn't los any of hr kys.  On th shopping list for tomorrow?  Supr Glu.  And mayb a dit cok.  It has bn a long tim and I think I might hav arnd on.

My silly cowgirl

Every now and again, Hannah reminds me to let loose and laugh.  Yesterday I was busily cooking dinner and crying like crazy. (from cutting onions)  Hannah came in to fill in as my sous chef, but realized that I needed a different kind of help than normal.  "Mom, just close your eyes and I will tell you if you are going to cut yourself!"  Hannah, I love you!  (and you aren't using sharp knives for a few more years!)

Here is my sweet little cowgirl, Hannah, who would probably sell her soul for a horse. (These are from a year and a half ago, but she still loves horses and still wears cowgirl boots 90% of the time.)

She isn't so fearless afterall

For those of you that know my Hannah, you will be surprised.  For those of you who don't know her, just note that this is very abnormal for her.

Last Monday, we took Chris' mom on a little day trip to Cannon Beach.  It was Rachel's birthday and she wanted to see some starfish , so we tried our best to deliver.  We looked up the low tide time and planned to be there about 2 hours before.  We tromped across the sand to the rockier area, in search of the requested starfish.  The water appeared to be coming in a little instead of going out, but nothing crazy.  At one point we had to walk a little higher to avoid some cold, wet feet, but not where we were running for our life.  This was when Hannah started wigging out.  I have never seen her so frightened and truly afraid that she was going to die and the interesting part was that there was really nothing to be afraid of.  Nobody had gotten a drop of water on them and we were not even close to the water.  I had to go back to the car with her because she was so upset and certain that she was about to die.  

for the birds

In the midst of packing up our old house, my sister gave our family the coolest present ever.  Because of the moving, living in a dungeon of a townhome and other craziness, we are just know getting to enjoy it.  For anyone who is trying to think of a cool present for a family with young children: Pay attention.  In the last week, our family has enjoyed this present more than any toy out there.  And it would make an adorable gift basket, to boot.  She included a bird feeder, a bird watching book and a bird whistle.  

It took a week for the birds to start coming, but once they found us, they have been ripping through the food.  With the help of Birds of the Williamette Valley, we have started our bird watching adventures by finding many a dark eyed junko and rufous sided towhee. (we are new to this and I am sure we will slowly start recognizing different birds with the help of our little guide)  All of the girls shout in glee when they see the birds dive in to get some bird feed and we love watching the birds wait on the fence for their turn to eat. (They have a little line system.  They must have gone to kindergarten or something to learn such order!)  

Below is Hannah's own "bird trap".  While doing school with the older girls, Hannah came in to tell me about her outdoor adventures.  I "listened" like I sometime do, but my ears perked up when I heard something about a fire and catching birds.  What?  I clarified with her, "What are you going to do with the birds once you catch them? Eat them?"  She started to think it over and quickly decided that the fire would be to warm their wings since it was so cold.  Note to Chris: Maybe we are watching too much "Man vs. Wild" with the kids?  It turns out that the bird seed in the trap was much enjoyed by the birds and I think they are thankful to Hannah for not adding the fire feature.  Whew.  

Note to dad: I double checked and they are definitely rufous sided towhees, not the red breasted nutchatches.  Maybe we just have better bird feed than you. :)

Baby love and other Kangness

Not my baby, but still just as sweet.  These are from a family that I "shot" today. :)

One week old babies remind me of just how much Lilly has grown up.  Sigh.  It is so sad that it goes by so quickly, no matter how much you try to slow it down.  The little feet.  The cute little sneezes.  Yes, Lilly is so much fun right now with her giggling, clapping and standing up all of the time.  Still, a newborn baby is a different sort of  priceless and, no, I am not going to go do anything crazy!  (that was for Chris and my mom....didn't want to freak them out or anything)

On to other life updates:  Elise has slept in her dog house for almost a week now.  (A blanket over the table in her room)  Why do we buy our children beds?  It has made bed time so much easier.  Instead of lots of crying, I simply ask if doggy wants a "backpack ride" and my two year old doggy hops on, barking all the way, saying something about mommy doggy.  Just a few "woofs" later and she is off to doggy dream land.  It works like a dream! Rachel deserves all the credit for this one as she started it.  What a fabulous big sister, I tell ya!  

We are on tooth fairy watch at our house, too.  Chloe has two wiggly teeth and Hannah has her first wiggly tooth.  I have offered to pull out any teeth in exchange for an extended bed time, which has pretty much only made Hannah want me to pull out her tooth every night right around....bed time.  No, I am not a mean tooth pulling mom normally.  They just have these other teeth coming in that are in slightly nightmarish places and I am hoping that this might save us a few bucks on braces down the road.  I know....keep dreaming, girl.  I have a tooth fairy elf now (who finally figured it all out last year) who keeps me in check so I don't forget to deliver any "packages" when these said teeth do finally fall out.  She reminds me that night and will sneak into my room in the morning (after I forget) and sneak everything to...where it needs to be.  Hey, I don't call her my secretary for nothing!  Us moms don't have quite the memory that we used to and with Rachel being such a young spry, she makes up for the memory that I lost. (it did all start with her!)

A business idea for some entrepreneur out there

The day after we tromped around Parry's U-Cut for the perfect tree to make the season bright, Hannah (who is a pretty bright little girl) turned to me and asked, "Is our tree fake or real?"  Rachel and I looked at each other and giggled quietly to ourselves before reminding Hannah about the part of the trip where the tree was cut down.  This is when we came up with a brilliant business idea.  A fake Christmas Tree Farm.  It is for that part of the population that doesn't do real trees because of allergies or whatever other crazy reason (They don't like the intoxicating smell of a Christmas tree in their house?), but that still want the experience of cutting down a tree.  They go and choose out their fake tree (in a field of other fake trees of various sizes), cut it down with a fake saw and then tie it to their car to fit in with all of the other cars toting Christmas trees at this time of year.  What do you think?  I think it is a stroke of genius. :)

Here are a few sneak peaks for you, Leigh Anne.  Your family is so refreshing up to my kids.  No chasing Clark down to sit back in the pictures, bribing him with a lollipop.  No telling Cali to stop rolling her eyes for just a few shots.  Will my kids grow out of this or is it just because I am their photographer?  Maybe I just need a better bribe.  Hmmm....  

It's great to be Hannah

Wouldn't we all love to have Hannah's self confidence?  Today Hannah said to my dad "Every family would be lucky to have a kid like me!" and yesterday she told Chris how cute she is.  Well, Hannah, I agree with you on both counts!