The Harwick Hubabaloo

Hello?

Betcha can't believe your eyes? right? an update?

Yep! I am finally getting around to updating this poor old blog! (I have received enough prodding emails from family and friends to get my act together!)

Believe it or not we have been busy! (I know, hard to believe since there isn't much to do in the armpit of America!) - and not busy with anything much worth talking about, just busy living.. cleaning, running around and trying to stay out of the heat!

Since Easter...

Holly turned 4! - She is such a sweet little girl (most of the time) but she is definately having a hard time figuring out her role and place in the family. Not quite a baby and not quite a big girl, she is often left in limbo, not allowed to play with the big girls, but not wanting to play with Brody.. I am sure she will figure it out soon, but in the meantime it makes life hard because when she doesn't know what to do with herself she shadows me!

Hailey got a butterfly set for her birthday in March. If you have never done this with your kids before, you should. You can get one from http://insectlore.stores.yahoo.net/butpavwitliv1.html (they also have some other bug raising kits we have plans to check out!)

Here is one of our butterflies as we let them go:

School finished up in May. The girls had an awards ceremony at school. Hannah was recognized for her honor roll and Hailey was recognized for her stellar handwriting and choosen as "Most Athletic" in Kindergarten.

Since school let out we have been busy hanging around the house. We bought the girls (and Brody) a pretty good sized pool for out back and they have throughly enjoyed it! Holly started gymnastics, Hailey returned to the gym and Hannah increased her weekly class attendance to 2x/wk. So, we spend a lot of time running up and down the road to the gym!

We had a visit from Grandma Candy in June and a visit from Skylar and Grandma Patti for July 4th.

Here we are watching the fireworks on the base. They had a big "party" out there complete with stage, musical performances, jumbotron screens, food, activities for the kids and the static helicopter displays. Skylar was seemingly unimpressed, while the girls are still filled with wonder and excitement about seeing Daddy's helicopters... (11 year old boys, guess I need to get used to that at some point, right?) - oh, the tripod got "left" in the car so unfortunately my "grand" photo opportunity was runined.. LOL!

I had wanted to get some pictures of all the kids together, but time and whether and cooperation were definate issues! I did manage to get ONE picture of the 4 big kids in the pool together.

So, that's it in a nutshell. I would say that I will be better about updating, but I don't want to disappoint you all again, so let's say.... I'll be back!

Easter, Birthday and more Soccer!

I am truly trying to be better about updating this blog, but I get so busy and forget! 

Since my last visit we celebrated Easter, Hailey turned 6 and we had another soccer game (which unfortunately they lost because Hailey refused to play -- more on that in a minute!)

Easter was egg-citing! (LOL, couldn't resist that!). The kids woke up at the crack of dawn to find eggs scattered all over the backyard and baskets FULL of good loot! Here is Hailey's basket and some pictures of the hunt and "booty"..........................................

Next we had Hailey's birtday!~ She is 6! 6! Can you believe it? Where does the time go? I so wish I could slow it down or freeze time just for a while! They are all growing so fast and I am worried I will miss something or forget something! (henceforth my need to document everything on film! The girls may not always like the camera in their faces now, but one day they will thank me! - I know how glad I am that my Dad did it, even when it was less than enjoyable!) So, here is my Birthday girl!

The horse and stable was one of her favorite gifts (Thanks Grandma!). She talked about it and asked for it for weeks. She was also excited to receive a gift card from her favorite store, Target, from Grandma Patti! She also got a mess of new Pet Shop (gotta grow the collection! nevermind it won't fit in the largest tub!) After the present opening we all enjoyed Tinkerbell cake and ice cream! I would say the birthday was a success!

The soccer season is well under way and while Hailey is an excellent player, she is not the most sportsman-like player on the team. Most of the players on her team are 4 or 5. They don't keep official score and there is no real strategy, just run after the ball in a pack and kick it! There are lots of "downed" players and many a hurt feeling, but most of the kids bounce back and continue the game, but not Hailey. Maybe it is the competitive "Harwick" gene that runs in her blood (or maybe it is Daddy's teaching) or the fact that Daddy has taught Hailey the rules of the game and has worked with her on passing and moving the ball down the field, but Hailey knows the score. Hailey wants the ball, Hailey wants to play the "game"..... and well,unfortunately, the other players don't. This frustrates Hailey, who in turn melts down. Friday was no exception. The "royal blue" team boasts some pretty good players (our team is more like the Bad News Bears).... they ran fast, they scored... they dominated the field. At one point Hailey was tripped by the mob, at which point she began to cry, she sucked it up and carried on.... only to have the ball stolen from her and then scored on, ugh! That was it. Tantrum, meltdown, refusal to play which = frustration for Mommy (as Daddy is out on the field "coaching"). Hailey refused to play the entire remainder of the game... Score 7-0. Royal Blue won. Will load some pictures of the masacre later. LOL!

Hmm.. not sure if I ever shared my BIG news?! I was choosen to be a member of the Design Team at AllyScraps!! I am so excited to be a part of their team! I received my first kit in March. You can check out the site and my work by clicking the link! They also have a super fun community of very friendly people and a great store full of NEW stuff!  We will be starting an April BINGO game this week, come over and buy a card for $1.00 and you could win a GC if you get BINGO! We also have a biweekly sketch challenge hosted by the talented Debbie Gaydos! You can check that out here.

We are starting a Spring Secret Sister Swap at Scrap Space. If you are interested in playing go sign in!

Well, I think that is it for now! I will try to post again soon!

xoxoxoxo

My Star!

I know, I know.

You are asking me, why don't you ever post? How much is there to do in Alabama that you cannot update your blog every once in a while? LOL! Truthfully, not much, but we do stay busy!

Hailey had her first soccer game on Tuesday this week! She is sooooo good! I had some parents ask if this was her first year or if she had played before! - to which I answered, nope, it is just in her genes! They won the game 8-0! LOL! It was quite comical watching the pack of 4-5 year old follow the ball around the field. There were many whistles, some goals and some tears! (not from our team, but the other!).

Here is my soccer star at work:

You can see in this last picture, that despite winning the game, Hailey was not a very good sportsman and refused to shake hands at the end of the game!  Maybe next time!

 

Out with the Old and in with the New!

I have so much to post about with Hannah's birthdy, Christmas and the New Year, but all those pictures and stuff are on Aaron's computer and I cannot move him from there this weekend! LOL!

So, for now, I will leave you with this:

Scrapper's Bliss seems to have disappeared in front of our eyes! The Message Board and gallery are both reading "error". This has left many of the faithful Bliss Members "homeless". In an effort to keep us together as a family (LOL!), I have started a Message Board here. I have also purchased the domain and will be upgrading the community with a gallery and such as I get it all figured out!

Please, if you miss Bliss, come over and say "hello"! There are lots of friendly faces and hopefully some new ones will show up too!

xoxoxxo

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is over and done and I have to say I am thankful for that! It means that the Christmas holiday is around the corner... and I *love* Christmas!

We had lots of yummy food which we shared with some friends and a good time. Now, we have leftovers... I am thankful for that too!

Here are some photos of my "turkeys"... (with a fun little project we made on Wednesday to occupy our time!)

Halloween!

I know you are eager to see my ghouls and ghosts (which were really one tired boy who would not tolerate a costume, one Strawberry Fairy Princess, one Midnight Fairy and one Mixed up Angel)

But first, you will want to see the fruits of our Pumpkin Patch labors... The jack-o-laterns!

Hailey cleaning out the guts

Brody investigating his pumpkin. (yep, you guessed it, that lid went right into his mouth!)

Hannah's- the witch

Holly's - the cat

Hailey's - the spider

Brody's - the traditional pumpkin

Half angel/half devil, quite fitting, don't you think?

Strawberry Fairy

The Midnight Princess - yet another fitting costume choice!

The gang.. Spiderman is our friend, Alex!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Time!

October is the time we make our yearly pilgrimage to the Pumpkin Patch!

We took some friends along this time for good measure (and to help us get out of the corn maze alive.. lol!). The corn was not as high and the sunflowers were not as healthy looking due to the lack of rain this summer, but it was still a good time!

Here we are:

 

October Events...

Fall,

My favorite season of the year! I so enjoy the cooler weather and the fun family Fall activities!

This year was no exception!

We started out with a family trip to the Montgomery Zoo! I was expecting to be disappointed, after having the privleged to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo so many times, but it was actually a nice zoo! Small, but nice. The animals are healthy and hearty and they were alert and wandering which made the kids happy!

Can you tell which one are the animals? ha ha!

Yes, I am a slacker!

I admit it, I am a slacker! I always mean to post and then forget! I am BUSY!

Lots going on here in the Harwick household!

The girls are busy at school! Hannah is doing fairly well learning to read and Hailey has begun to bring home the dreaded Frye Word lists... ugh! More Mommy work.. drilling... tears, frustration... all in the name of a test score to attempt to raise Alabama state schools from the depths of educational darkness.. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it is going to take a LOT more than a test score to accomplish this, but I will save my unsavory comments about the schools here to myself!

Aaron is plugging away at flight school. He is finishing Instruments and moving onto BWS. And now, the fun part.. He has to make this fandangled mapbook. Why you ask? I personally think they think they have nothing better to do than trace power lines and plot points to make some "craft" project... ugh!  Here he is at work:

Brody boy got his first haircut a couple of weeks ago! He is a real boy now! So cute, but tearing up my house all day long as he wanders about babbling away!

Here are some pics of the cute boy(s)! (Daddy got a haircut too!~)

Before:

During:

and after:

 

Marah Johnson Tonight at Bliss!!!

Hi Everyone!

I do have some new family photos to share, but will do that later, ok?

For now, I want to let everyone know that the fabulous Marah Johnson, designer for Creative Imaginations, will be joining us tonight at Scrapper's Bliss (www.scrappersbliss.com) for a Celebrity Chat at 8:00pm CST! (that is 9:00pm EST and 6:00pm PST)

Here is some more about Marah:

Marah grew up in Encinitas, CA. As a teen, it would not have been unusual to find her perusing the local flea market to find unique treasures, or wandering through card shops just to "look at all the beautiful cards and papers", and spend hours at art-supply stores. Marah was lucky enough to have grown up with an artist mother who never hesitated to teach her the" tricks of the trade", and her father taught her to love the written word at a very early age. He encouraged Marah to express herself through writing and keeping a daily journal, a daily ritual she keeps to this day. Her parents' main focus was to instill the importance of imagination and the cultivation of creativity. Her family's motto was, and still is, "to think and be outside the box". Over the years, Marah has found that that is her favorite place to be.

Experimentation is the key to Marah's art. Never one to be driven by the norm; she is always striving to try something new-whether it's combinations of colors, textures, or techniques. It is that fearless ability to try the unknown that has lead to her success as an artist. On any given day of the week, one will find Marah in her studio with a blowtorch in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. A designer for Creative Imaginations Hampton Arts and Michael Miller Fabrics, Marah currently resides in Vista Ca with her three daughters.


In addition to the chat, Marah is hosting an awesome challenge for the chance to win one of two Creative Imaginations sponsored prizes!