Sweet Summer

Sweet, sweet summer.  As the last days of summer are slipping through our fingers we are full steam ahead to do some of those fun things that we wanted to do.  From revisiting our blog, to getting artsy, we are doing it with gusto!

Last week, as we contemplated what fun thing to do for the day, the girls and I decided to try our hand at making sidewalk paint.  And guess what?  It worked!

It was actually quite easy.  A little bit of cornstarch, some water and some food coloring and we were good to go.  The boys opted out of joining the girls and I outside in the 1000% humidity so we enjoyed our art time alone.

And, after all of mommy's efforts to do something fun and exciting guess who gets the glory?

Funny, isn't it?  Sometimes you just have to smile :-)

Exciting Times

So it has been a while since I have posted here but it doesn't mean that life hasn't been happening. It has been happening- fast and furious- but good. So , what is it that has brought me back to the good old family blog? Well, it boils down to a little bit of guilt and a whole lot of learning. I have been spending the colder winter weather catching my breath from the busy Christmas season. Before Christmas, I was behind my camera a lot shooting for other people. Once the holiday rush subsided I was able to pick my camera back up for me. I have been taking a few photography courses and shooting my kids for the fun of it. Over the past few months my hard drive has been filling up with oodles of images that melt my heart but I haven't done a thing with them. Just having them has been enough for me. So, in the hopes of preserving some memories for my kids- back to the blog I go!

Out of hibernation and into capturing my family happening again. Tonight we start with the two big events of the day. One event was a milestone while the other is just a quirky little thing that makes one a part of the Reno family.

Let's start with the quirky one! Below you will see images captured while we scarfed down our pizza tonight ( mommy wasn't together enough to pick up from two schools, bake my friend a birthday cake and get Liza to dance AND cook dinner). If you are at all familiar with our family than you know we are pretty wild about basketball. This has long been a favorite time of year for me- March Madness- and I am proud to say all of my kids are getting to be pretty wild about it too.

Today, at dinner, we all made our brackets- and I do mean ALL of us. Even Louisa has a bracket. Although, we aren't too sure about hers since she kept telling us Mickey Mouse was going to win every game. The bigger kids did their best to help her pick winners though. Liza picked her winners by figuring out which mascot would win out over the other. Harrison conferred with is dad for his picks and Ben has been watching enough SportsCenter to do his picks blindfolded! So, all six of our brackets are done. Let the games begin!

This leads us to the second big event of the day. See all those papers down there? Those are registration papers. Liza is now officially registered for "big school". As hard as it is to believe our little girl who wasn't even a year old when we moved here, is now getting ready to follow her big brothers to elementary school. When I see that picture of her walking with her little friend into school I know she is ready. Now, let's just hope mommy is ready when the fall rolls around!

So, those are the big happenings from the Reno crew. No, it isn't anything earth-shattering, but in our corner of the world this is the stuff that life is made of. And it is good stuff.

Summer Fun

I just logged on and I can't believe I haven't posted since April! Yikes! Where has the time gone? Here are a few things that have happened since April:

* Ed and I have both turned 40. ( Yes, we are really that old!)

* Ben has turned into a 4th grader and Harrison is now a 1st grader.

* Liza is getting ready to start her last year of preschool.

* Louisa has become quite the chatter box.

* We enjoyed taking Liza on her first trip to the magical place that is Disney.

* We enjoyed a family reunion and got to introduce all the kids to the farm where my mom grew up.

* Ben played a summer season with the New Bern All Stars again.

* Liza and Harrison got to play on the same t-ball team.

* Harrison conquered his fear of jumping into the pool.

* The kids and I enjoyed a week at Emerald Isle.

* The whole Kurzmann clan gathered for a fun filled week at Kiawah Island.

* Liza participated in her first dance recital.

* Liza got a new hair-do. She now matches her mommy :-)

* We enjoyed a fun week of Vacation Bible School.

We have had a great summer and I am sad to see it come to an end. I like having all my babies at home with me. And yes, they have pushed my buttons a bit. I mean really, four kids at home all summer?? Of course they have had their disagreements and thrown their fits. But, all in all, I just love these little people! They are becoming such interesting people and I love being around them.

Hope you guys have had a great summer too!

Spring Break Photo Share

That photo up there about sums up our spring break. Can't you just hear the giggles and imagine the splashing? We have enjoyed all kinds of fun this break. Most of these images are from our quick trip down to the beach to see my younger sister and her family. That shot up there is my two oldest playing with her two oldest. Don't you just love it?

And here is Sarah's husband with their youngest. I just love it. Don't you just love how little Noah has his arm across his Daddy's shoulder? Too sweet!

And here is my cutie patootie baby. This was her first trip to the beach since she has learned to walk. After a few minutes of getting her feet used to the sand she was good to go. She wandered all over.

And this is a view we have of our little Louisa quite a lot. Seems she isn't scared of leaving us behind.

And this is one of my favorite shots from our little playdate on the beach. See? I told you she wasn't scared of leaving us behind...

Now, in addition to our trip to the beach we enjoyed a trip up to Williamsburg. On the way there we stopped at the "Invisible Swamp" also known as the Great Dismal Swamp. Seems Harrison really liked our rest stop there and he wanted to go to the invisible place on the way home.

We also enjoyed Easter Day in Raleigh where all the Kurzmann girls met up with Mom Mom and Pop Pop. The cousins had a great time running around the yard and eating Mom Mom's good cooking.

Back in New Bern we had playdates with friends, had multiple movie nights, stayed up late and slept in ( as late as a baby will let you) and had good old fun just hanging out. Sadly, spring break is coming to an end but the good memories we made won't.

Spring Trainning

With baseball season getting ready to open up, the Reno boys have been hard at practice. Thanks to the awesome weather we have been enjoying, we have been able to go play in the backyard after dinner on most nights. A few nights ago we all went out in the backyard and the boys showed their momma what they can do.

Harrison is getting pretty good! It will be his last year playing t-ball and I can tell he is ready to move up. He can really whack the ball off the pitch and last night he was giggling away as he kept hitting them over the fence. Way to go my little H man!

Benjamin is also working hard. Last year he played an outfield position but I could tell he kind of wanted to play one of the bases. He has been working on playing first base this year and I think he is excited about it. The picture below just cracks me up. As Ben was getting ready to wing the ball over to Ed, little Miss Louisa came marching up to him yelling his name. I just love the little look on her face as she gazed up at her big brother. And, I love how he actually stopped to enjoy it. Not many 9 year old boys would stop what they are doing but this one is tender hearted when it comes to little sisters.
So, that is all for tonight. I figured it was about time I posted something of the boys, even if it was their backs! Of course, I have a gazillion things I could post about Louisa- her sitting on the table, her learning to blow her nose ( now if we can just teach her to do it with a tissue!), etc. But, I'll save those for another day....

Fourth Time is the Charm- or Not...

Awww, look at that sweet, little toddler. Isn't she the cutest? I do think she is the cutest thing ever BUT I must tell you her looks are deceiving. She is the baby of four so you would think we have this stuff down pat. Right?

Well, little cutie pa-tootie up there seems to be here to show us that we do NOT have it all down. She is our "wild child". Now, I had friends who used to say their kids were high maintenance and I always wondered what they meant. I didn't think babies were so hard. At least my babies weren't so hard. I thought my friends were just exaggerating a bit. Now, I know they weren't. Some kids really are high maintenance and it appears that the last one we ordered up falls into that category.

Last night Louisa thought it would be fun to start climbing on things. Good-bye sitting down for me. Seems I am constantly having to get up to remove her from furniture these days. Remember her big sister Liza who didn't walk until she was 18 months? She never would have thought about climbing on furniture. Come to think of it, she still isn't a big climber.

A while back Louisa discovered how to open our cabinets- the ones where we keep food. So long to keeping food IN the cabinets. Now my counters always look messy because I have to keep things where she can't get them.

With the weather turning nice we have been going outside to play a lot. Smarty pants has discovered that our yard connects to our neighbor's yard. Obviously she likes their lawn much better since she kept running over there today. Sadly, she also pitched a fit each time I ran to bring her back into our yard. I sure will miss you, calm afternoons relaxing outside with the kids.

Smarty pants has also discovered what each door of the house sounds like. If she hears the boys' door open ( it leads to upstairs) she takes off like a flash to try to scramble up the stairs. Or, if she hears a bathroom door open, she quickly tries to find the room with that awesome bowl that holds water. Yes- she is our toilet playing baby! So, we have recently had to adopt a "close all the doors" policy. Good-bye moving freely from room to room.

Now, lest you think that we don't adore our baby Louisa, I can share some things that we just eat up about her:

She clearly, and distinctly has a name for each of us. There is nothing like a baby calling out her sweet names for you or her siblings or her dada. My favorite name that she has adopted- her name for Harrison, "No No". That just cracks me up! I must tell Harrison "no" a lot!

She is our Linus. She has a baby blanket that she cuddles up with. When she gets tired she marches into her room, sticks her chubby little arms through the spokes of the crib and hauls that blankie right out.

When you pick her up ( especially from a nap) she lays her head on your shoulder and pats your back like she is trying to make you feel better.

She laughs a great big belly laugh when you say, "Bumblebee, bumblebee....Buzz!".

So, while I should have this child rearing stuff down, I most obviously do not. But, I do at least have the foresight to know that it won't be long before I am missing her crazy toddler antics. Just as I survived those months of little to no sleep, I will survive Louisa's crazy toddler days. Now, if we can just get the house to survive.....

BLOOMWORKSHOP Birthday Giveaway!

I have been busy doing my homework for Bloom, the online workshop I am taking. That picture up there was one of the shots I took trying to complete the assignment. When I put the camera down and turned on the computer I made the mistake of going on the workshop forum. There is so much info. there you could get lost for a week! That's a good thing though. Good information, great classmates and awesome teachers who could ask for more?

As I was reading the forum I was reminded of the birthday bash going on for this workshop. The workshop's birthday is going on now and, the good part for us is that they are giving away prizes! For a chance to win visit their blog, follow the directions and then leave them a comment about what you did. Easy-peasy :-)