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.

weekend wrap up

This was the big weekend for Chloe that has already ignited a count down for Hannah. Our family all gathered together for her special baptism (minus James' family...missed you guys!). I must say that I enjoyed not being 8 months pregnant this time around and am pretty sure that had a lot to do with us not being on time, but being early! No pictures of little Chloe to share on here, but I do have a picture of my nephew to share with you. I barely missed his arrival on my last trip to Snohomish so this was my first chance to shoot him. (in a photographic sense, of course.) His big blue eyes were quite spectacular, even if he is a little beyond the newborn cuddle up and sleep phase.

Chloe has been so excited for this day and you could see her sweet little spirit was just shining all day long. Her big goal was to read the Book of Mormon before her birthday, which she beat by almost a month. I love seeing her strive to choose the right and trying to help people at every turn. What a fabulous person she is! Ok. Enough bragging on my sweetness. (But she is exactly that!)

tea party wrap up

Yes, my darling little Chloe is now on the eve of turning eight. She has been counting down to her baptism for a good year (possibly more but my memory just doesn't go back that far any more.) and had her heart set on a tea party. I tried my hardest, in a discrete manipulative mother way to persuade her to have a pioneer party, but she was set in her ways. (which is not normal as she is pretty indecisive and malleable but worked out for me this time as the tea party was so much easier!)

there were the cupcakes, which were super duper easy peasy. I even used store bought frosting. (audience: gasp!)

There were the ice cream balls that came as the result of a special request from the birthday girl. They would have been extra easy if it weren't for the first batch getting ruined because the freezer wasn't shut all the way. (we won't mention any names, but she sure was lucky that it was for her own stinking party!)

Beyond that, all of the food was store bought after a kitchen epiphany that reminded me that eight year olds don't care and that it just wasn't really worth it. The biggest hit? Hot cocoa with endless marshmallows and whip cream. (thanks, Shana!) We made some felted strawberries during the party and beaded some necklaces towards the end. All in all, a success. Why? I simplified. I spent less than $50 on the whole thing and didn't do anything for it until Thursday. And it went quite well (if I do say so myself), Chloe loved it and...it is over. Yeah! 1 down. 3 to go.

Oh. These were the favor boxes. (Thanks, Kylene for the inspiration.) They are made from cups and topped with these flower barrettes that we made from an old white t-shirt. The total for 10 boxes? $6 flat, $5 of which went towards candy to fill them. As if the price didn't make them cool enough, the flowers look like icing on little cupcakes and look absolutely gorgeous in hair. Muy bueno.

The bad news? Although I didn't succeed at convincing Chloe to have a pioneer party, Autumn was eavesdropping and now has her heart set on one. I think I should start sewing now. See how I make my life difficult?

matchies

Do you know what I love? Picking up a familiar dress at a garage sale, one that a big sister has already but in a smaller size, and having both sisters thrilled to match each other as soon as they can. As a matter of fact, when I asked Chloe to get her pj's on the other night, she said she couldn't until I took a picture of her and Rachel together in their matchies. Thank you, girls, for being so sweet to each other. (most of the time.)

Dainty in all she says and does

Some kids will throw up all over the bed or the carpet, but not my Chloe.  She came downstairs and sat on my lap while I helped Rachel with math.  When there was a pause, she told me that I needed to give her a dollar.  Trying to remember what dollar I forgot to pay her, I finally asked her why I owed her a dollar.  She quietly told me (looking like she was about to cry) that she had thrown up in the toilet.  She is tucked in bed, armed with a throw up bowl, ready to sleep.  And the flu bug is here, but hopefully not for long.  Chloe is definitely a nice sicky.  

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!)