Nathan

Tim

Peter

Nick

Maggie

Nathan is a freshman at (the brand-spankin’ new!) Ballard High School. He is off to a great start with high school, where his favorite subject is history. He’s a bit of a sucker for anything US History related and really has a knack for remembering all those dates and names and making sense of it all. Nathan made the honor roll, and is also participating in athletics year ‘round. He swam all summer, trained with the U19 Ballard Soccer Club in the fall, while still putting in pool time 8-10 hours per week to prepare for his first season with the Ames High Boys Swim Team. He was one of only 3 freshman on the swim team this winter, and as a Ballard student he had to get his school permit which allowed him to drive from Huxley to north Ames twice a day for most of the swim season. 16+ hours/week in the pool paid off with huge time drops, and he earned a varsity letter. We are so proud of him for bearing the responsibility of driving SAFELY at the age of only 15 (barely) through the winter months to get himself to practice. The daily worry almost killed us, but we made it! This spring Nathan has joined his cousins Adam and Jacob (seniors this year) on the Ballard High School Boys Soccer Team-we are really looking forward to watching all 3 boys play!

Nathan continues to be involved in Boy Scouts, and will advance to Life rank (which is one rank shy of Eagle) this spring or summer. He is also serving as Troop Guide for some of the younger scouts. This summer will be his first in many years that he will not be with the troop at Camp Mitigwa. Instead he will go on a 10 day Pilgrimage to Colorado with his J2A (Journey to Adulthood) class from church. They will stay at Cathedral Ridge - an Episcopal Camp and Retreat center near Colorado Springs, and are spending a lot of their meeting time planning and preparing for that trip. He also has recently completed lifeguard training and is hoping to work as a guard for the City of Slater this summer.

Tim is 14 and an 8th grader this year at The School of Mom and Dad. Can we put that on a diploma? This is his 4th year as a homeschooler, and I think we finally have the hang of it...just in time for high school next year (and yep, we will be continuing to homeschool through high school). The day-to-day core schoolwork takes a lot of planning and discipline, but we have really come to enjoy the flexibility, choices, independence, and...just...freedom that homeschooling affords. Pete handles the math, and Jen does language arts (Tim was two full years behind in LA when he started homeschooling - we are finally caught up to grade level this spring-hooray!) and social studies. We both do science, depending on the topic. We’ve done a lot of hands on stuff in that subject this year-very cool. His strongest subject is probably science, especially biology, although astronomy is in the running, too-he is often out on a clear night making sure the planets and stars are where they are supposed to be. We counted a one week trip to the Virgin Islands last spring as a Marine Biology unit-can’t beat that for a field trip! PE means participating on the 8th grade basketball team, swim practice, walking the dog, a 12 mile family bike ride to the High Trestle Trail Bridge, shoveling snow, or learning to wakeboard at the lake-it just depends on the day! He’s getting pretty slick in the kitchen and has learned to make baked salmon and chicken parmesan all on his own. Most of his core schoolwork can be done in just a few hours, although procrastination can be an issue. We’re working on that.

Tim definitely has the music gene. He plays trombone in the 8th grade band, and continues to play electric guitar, and he’s really good! He has recently taught himself to play bass guitar as well and is working on a very cool rock-star hairdo. Next year we will add foreign language to the mix - he has decided to learn German, and he is going to take Theatre Management and Production at the high school as an elective...the new high school has an amazing performing arts facility and he will get to explore recording, as well as lighting and sound systems. Tim also enjoys spending time with youth group friends from our church (St John’s Episcopal), and around the state when there is a diocesan youth event. Last summer he went to Pictured Rocks Camp in Monticello, IA with his younger brother Nick and cousin Jenna, and to New Beginnings (a middle-school retreat weekend) at St Luke’s in Des Moines in the fall, and on Ski-trip in January! He also really enjoys attending Icthus, another church youth group, with his local buddies, on Wednesday nights in Huxley at Grace E-free. Oh, and he got his driver’s permit in the fall, so maybe steer clear of Huxley for the time being.

Peter has turned 13. So... the teens outnumber us now-yikes. He is a 7th grader at Ballard Middle School, and is an avid collector of knives, camping and fishing gear, and art supplies. His room includes a punching bag, a drawing table, and an obscene quantity of tackle. Peter has the art gene and continues to develop his drawing skills. His school notebooks and assignments are covered in doodles just like his dad’s were when he was in school. Pete has been working with him on Photoshop and he also is exploring other areas, like ceramics. His art teacher has been encouraging and allows him some extra time at the wheel when possible. Peter is a good student-his grades were decent this year- and he is really learning to stay focused and productive at school so that he has his evenings free!

He went out for the cross country team in the fall, which was initially very tough for him (those first weeks especially), but he persevered and made it all the way through the season. He played 7th grade basketball this winter, too. He had a good time running around town and shooting hoops with his classmates, but has decided that the pool is where he belongs and so this spring he has chosen to focus on getting ready for AHS swimming like Nathan has done. He will do one more summer season with the Ballard Sharks Swim Club and then join the Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club in the fall. Peter plays the trumpet in band, and also participates in Boy Scouts with his older brother Nathan. He is currently First Class and will advance to Star Scout sometime this spring or summer. He also serves as a Den Chief for the Wolf Den (helping out the local Cub Scout Pack). Those 2nd graders think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread when he hangs out with them! He is looking forward to a spring weekend trip to Lake of Three Fires, a week in South Dakota in June, and a week at Camp Mitigwa in July. Most weekends, though, he will be found at Lake Panorama, pacing the dock and shore, attempting to hook the big one. Peter, Tim and Nick are all in the same Sunday School and youth group class at church-so please pray often for their teacher.

Nick is a 6th grader at Ballard Middle School in Mrs Specht’s class. He and his cousin John Ackerman like to spend a lot of time together, plotting global domination as Goatee Man and Evil Dr Sideburns (????) and battling it out on Skylanders (a Wii game). Nick is still doing Tae Kwon Do a couple times a week with Jen, and recently earned his junior 3rd degree blackbelt. His sparring is steadily improving and he almost won his age bracket at his last tournament in a sudden death finish...so close! Nick is a strong soccer player in the spring and fall seasons with the Ballard Soccer Club U12 team, and his team extended their last spring season all the way into summer for the Iowa Games, where they took the bronze! He is also a good swimmer and will swim for the Sharks this summer with Peter, Tim and Maggie. Nick served on Student Council during his first semester at the middle school, and plays the saxophone in the 6th grade band where he is usually 2nd chair, except when he forgets his instrument-then he is last chair...musical chairs. His favorite subject in school is math, and he really loves to read. He got his very own Kindle for Christmas and is crazy for the Owls of Ga’Hoole series. Nick also likes to be Tim’s lab partner for homeschool science projects. Remember the scientist and his assistant on the Muppets? It’s a lot like that.

At church, Nick (and all of his brothers) take turns serving as acolytes on Sunday mornings. It’s not easy to be the fourth of four boys, and the smallest...but he’s a tough cookie and doesn’t take any crap from his older brothers. He’s also not too cool to give his mom a hug every day.

Maggie is 8 years old and in Mrs Jensen’s class at Ballard West Elementary. She loves to read like Nathan and Nick, draw like dad and Peter, play the piano like mom and Tim, and of course she is a swimmer, too. She is a bright star in all of our lives, and we hope she never ever loses hold of that fearless joie de vivre of which she possesses in such abundance. Maggie has been swimming over the winter for the Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club. Her strokes have really improved, and she swam personal best times in almost every meet. She even got to go to the 12 & Under State meet on the 8 & Under relay...she was very excited about that! One day at practice she held up her arms, flexed those toothpicks and told her coach, “I feel FAST!” Maggie’s cousin Lauren also swam this winter season, and both girls are in the same Godly Play class together at church, too.

She still accompanies Jen on the bus route after school each day, as she has since she was only 3 years old, and gets to enjoy whatever yummy treats are available at the bus barn after route. There’s always something...it’s the last place you’d expect a buffet, but...there it is. She started taking piano lessons in January, after receiving a keyboard as a Christmas gift. She adores her teacher and sort-of-big-sis, Shelbi, a senior at Ballard this year, who is patient and talented enough to listen attentively to the Maggie-monologues and still squeeze in a lesson in a 45 minute time frame.

We revamped her room a bit over the holidays-getting rid of the “little girl” stuff was a bit sad, but a new bed, a new bookshelf, and space for her keyboard were probably overdue. Once we cleared out Dora the Explorer and Goodnight Moon (I guess I was hoping we could read those forever) there was room for Little House and Anne of Green Gables, though she prefers Nick’s Owls of GaHoole series above those. And Smurfs...Smurfs are the thing lately. “Yes,” she says, “I have an embarrassing obsession with Smurfs.” She always has a project. We seldom go anywhere without at least pencil and paper. Her desk is covered with many of her works-in-progress: drawing after drawing after drawing, books she has written, illustrated and bound with scotch tape, cardboard “houses” under construction for her favorite stuffed animals, and colored pencils, markers, felt, glue, scissors, pastels scattered around...in that beautiful menagerie of organized chaos that real artists seem to function best with.

Nathan is in 8th grade this year at Ballard Junior/Senior High School.  He turned 14 in September and finally got around to getting his driver's permit in November. He does pretty well...but winter is coming, so pray hard! He'll take driver's ed this spring semester. Nathan had planned to do football this fall, but changed direction and decided to get a jump on the winter swim season and joined the Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club in September. It's a much bigger commitment than he's ever made before-he's practicing 2 hours/day, 5 days/week and it is really showing in his times and in his technique. He is making a few new friends on the Ames team, and will swim for Ames High next year in 9th grade.

Nathan is pretty organized when it comes to school, and even though he complains about all the work, still manages to get it all done and stay organized, he rarely seems to have much work to do after school. In his down-time, he likes to read, and play video games as well as traditional games with his brothers and dad.

Nathan is still going strong with Boy Scout Troop 163. He did Spring Camporee in May, spent a week at Camp Mitigwa again this summer (mile swim!), the Mid Iowa 100 Year Encampment in September, Weekend at Bernies in October, did 40&8 camping in November, Spring and Fall Merit Badge University at ISU, and completed 3 (maybe even 4?) merit badges required for Eagle rank. He also helped with 3 of his fellow troop members' Eagle projects throughout the year, and has been Patrol Leader for most of the year. He advanced to First Class in November.

At church Nathan is an acolyte, goes to youth group almost every week, and his Journey to Adulthood group is deciding on a location for their pilgrimmage in a few years.

Tim is 13 and in 7th grade this year. He is a dual-enrolled homeschooler, which means he is home about 85% of the school day, and goes to Ballard Junior/Senior High School for things like band, some electives, and extra-curricular activities. He is still very involved with music, taking piano lessons, electric guitar lessons, and playing trombone in the school band. His homeschooling has become very independent this year-and he is responsible for much of his learning, time-management, organization and motivation, with mom/dad helping to keep him on track through tests and daily to-do lists.

Tim is on the 7th grade boys basketball team at Ballard, which practices almost every day after school for two hours. So far they have competed against Carlisle, North Polk, Saydel, and Perry. He’s having fun and his skills are improving. He also did a second season with the Ballard Sharks Swim Club last summer, and participated in Tae Kwon Do as a brown belt this spring and summer, relearning all his forms-no small task!

This year Tim joined in the youth group activities at St John’s. He went on the ski trip in February, where he learned to snowboard. He went to Pictured Rocks Camp in Monticello for a whole week all on his own this summer. He had his doubts when we dropped him off, but he had such a great time he wants to go back next summer and bring Nick.

Peter, age 11, joined Nathan in Boy Scout Troop 163 this February. He has enjoyed accumulating, organizing, and reorganizing an excess of scout stuff. He currently has almost enough survival gear in his bedroom to retrace Lewis and Clark's route...but only because a canoe won't fit through the turn in the staircase. He attended Spring Camporee in May, Camp Mitigwa this summer, where he completed the mile swim, earned a couple merit badges, and won the clean tent award (what?!?!?!), the Mid Iowa Council 100 Year Encampment in September, Weekend-at-Bernies in October, 40&8 camping in November, and Merit Badge University this fall. He is fervently hoping for a Kelty Lakota 4000 top-loading-hydration compatible-frame-pack-with-front-panel-access-and-single-lightbeam aluminum-stay for Christmas and is planning his escape to Philmont the moment he turns 14...in only 2 more years.

Peter has discovered 6th grade requires actual work to get good grades. He is in Mrs. Morz class at Ballard East in Cambridge, and at first he didn't care that much about the grade part. But when he found out he could get a cell phone in 7th grade if he gets all As, suddenly he cared a LOT about grades, and now we see a lot more work coming home reflecting his actual abilities.

Peter continues to take occasional art classes at the Octagon in Ames, did a second season with the Ballard Sharks Swim Club last summer, and will play Parks and Rec basketball this winter. He is looking very forward to 7th grade, where he can join in the track and cross country programs.

Nick turned 10 in July and is in Mr Johnson’s 5th grade class at Ballard East. He started learning to play the clarinet this fall, and hopes to switch to saxophone soon. Nick and Tim are best buddies, and complete goofballs when they are together. They even managed to get lost together this summer in Rocky Mountain National Park. That sobered them right up...briefly.

This summer Nick went on his 10-year-old-trip with Gramma and Grampa Fisher to Yosemite Nat’l Park where they hiked for a whole week, saw Half Dome, El Capitan, the giant Sequoias, and stayed in the park lodge.

Nick played soccer in the Spring, swam for the Sharks in the summer, and will play basketball with Peter this winter. He is really learning to be a leader at Tae Kwon Do, where he is a Junior 1st Dan Black Belt. At almost every class, he works with colored belts on their forms and self defense techniques, has been working on some pretty cool board breaks, did a tournament in November, and is preparing to test for Junior 2nd Dan in April.

Maggie is 6 this year, and goes to Ballard West Elementary in Slater, where she is in Mrs. Ford’s 1st Grade class. Maggie’s teeth have all fallen out at once. The tooth fairy is poor now.

Maggie seems to have inherited the art gene, and is taking classes at the Octagon, which she loves. She also enjoys reading, writing in her diary, hosting extreme tea parties for 12+ people in her bedroom (which is not large, even without a full size bed in there...plus all the other stuff), dressing like an Cyndi Lauper, snake handling, and making things that use a lot of tape and small bits of paper.

She still has a gift for saying just what she thinks. Some gems from this year include. “Chili makes me barf.”, “Uncle John’s Christmas lights look like a Chinese restaurant.”, “My toes taste like cheese.”, “All right, who’s butt am I gonna kick next?!” and “ It’s easy to curl your hair, but it’s not easy to put a hat on a frog.”

This summer Maggie took swimming lessons and got brave enough to jump off the dock at the lake. She also hiked about 30 miles in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park, (which was hard work until getting her own Camelbak turned the tide), went to a few days of YMCA of the Rockies camp, and earned her Junior Ranger badge-she was sworn in on the tundra.

Last spring she learned to ride a two-wheeler with the help and patience of Tim, who has a significant lead in the on again/off again (mostly off) favorite brother competition.

Nathan is 13. He is enjoying not having to get up so early to catch a bus to school. Now that he's in 7th grade, he can just walk down the street to school. 7th grade hasn't been too big of a leap. Academically he is figuring out the importance of staying organized, and socially...the begging for a cell phone is in full swing. We are told at least once a day that he is the ONLY kid in seventh grade without a cell phone. Isn't that sad? So sad.

Somehow he manages to get through the days, though. This fall Nathan went out for football, and really enjoyed it. He learned a lot, especially since he never played football during his elementary school years. This winter he is swimming for the Ankeny Aquahawks with Peter, and will play soccer again in the spring.

Recently, girls have begun to congregate on our front porch. These girls do not have cooties...last year they did. Amazing! In addition to hanging out with Nathan, they have also been known to use said porch as a lookout for Nathan's older cousin Adam. Adam's dad (Pete's brother John) has been known to say things like "Adam can't come over until he practices his clarinet.", to this group. A few weeks later, Nathan says to us, "I think I want to stop playing the clarinet." HA!

Nathan is still involved with the boys scouts (Second Class), and last summer he went on a week long trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. He even let his Mom tag along.

Tim is 12. He is in Mrs Finnegan's 6th grade class at Ballard East in Cambridge, where girls still have cooties. He's still home schooling a little bit in the mornings, but most of his day is spent at school this year. He is doing a lot better this year getting his work done, and although 6th grade is a difficult year for many of the students, he is hanging in there and getting it done. He really enjoys science and band, where he plays the trombone.

Tim is our music guy-he's in his 3rd year of piano lessons, and also started electric guitar lessons at the beginning of the summer, which he LOVES. He has his own music studio set up in his room, and the neighbors don't even complain about the amp...which is not a quiet item. He has also started composing his own stuff for both piano and guitar...with some hilarious lyrics. Nick looks to have a future as the lead singer in Tim's band.

This winter Tim is playing basketball with his brother Peter on a team dad is helping to coach, and his skills there have really grown-last game this season he had his best game ever, dishing out assists and scoring as well. It's nice to see him feel good about what he is doing-he can be such a shy guy.

He still does his paper route 6 times a week, with Nathan.

Peter is 10. He has moved out of the attic bedroom he shared with Tim and Nick, into his own room in the basement. This has been a positive development for everyone. It was getting way too crowded up there, and Peter needed extra space for his art studio, easy bake oven, mega-nerf guns, and his punching bag. Yes, his hobbies are diverse. Peter is a pretty good cook. He has branched out from the easy bake oven this year into stovetop creations, including grilled cheese, scrambled eggs, coffee, and mac and cheese. Miniature crock pot is on his Christmas list.

In February, Peter finally took his Jr Black belt test-it was a major milestone for him-he put in a lot of time and hard work preparing, and we are so proud of him. He is taking a break from TKD during the winter season to do swim team with Nathan, and basketball with Tim, but he will be back at it in the spring. He also enjoys running, and is looking forward to another season with the track team.

This summer he went on his ten-year-old trip with Gramma and Grampa Fisher to Glacier National Park. In spite of some initial resistance from the Canadian government, he got to ride a train, see the mountains, do some fishing, and hiking.

At school, he is in Mr Johnson's 5th grade class with his cousin Jenna, and he is learning to play the trumpet in the band. He is still taking art classes at the Octagon, and this spring he will finally get to join the Drawing II class.

Nick is 9 and he is in Mrs Larkin's 4th grade class at Ballard East. Mrs. Larkin has been all of the boys' 4th grade teacher, for which she deserves a major award. Nick also took his Jr Black belt test this year--in April, and after a break this summer, he is back at class, helping out where he can and working on his forms.

Last summer was spent running barefoot and shirt free around the neighborhood, going to the lake on weekends, and hanging out at the pool. Nick and all the boys also swam for the Ballard Sharks Swim Club last summer, and Nick placed first at the Pineapple Pentathlon! He played soccer in the fall and the spring.

This summer he decided that for his birthday that he wanted a Nintendo DSi. To help pay for it, he spent 3 months saving his allowance as well as doing the dishwasher, mowing, walking the dog, brushing the dog (which can take all day), and his all time favorite, picking up dog poop. He also earns some extra money as a substitute paper boy for Nathan or Tim when they can't do their route. On July 13th, the little time-wasting device arrived, and he couldn't have been happier.

Next summer Nick will go on his 10-year-old trip to Yosemite...he is really looking forward to that, having had to watch three older brothers go off on their trips the last three years.

Maggie is 5. She has finally gone off to kindergarten...to Mrs Johnson's class at Ballard West in Slater. She's kind of a slow starter in the mornings, stumbling around until she gets some breakfast. It's going to be pretty unpleasant when she's about 14.

She is having a very fine time at kindergarten, though...once she's there. She has at least 49 best friends, and her favorite part of the day is "everything". She has already lost two teeth this year-very exciting! She learned that when the tooth fairy is too busy or forgets to come, it's ok because he leaves interest when he finally does get around to it.

Maggie has always had a vivid imagination, and one day last month we heard her making a strange noise, when we looked, she was squeezing her eyes shut, twisting her face up, and straining like mad. When asked "What the heck are you doing?, she said "I'm trying to grow a beard!" OK.

This fall Maggie finally decided she was big enough to be a real swimmer. She's never been afraid of the water, but she's never liked to have her face wet, either. Now she's diving under, kicking around, etc. She also participated in soccer for the first time this fall, and she did Tiny Tiger Tae Kwon Do all year-making it to brown belt.

Her favorite thing to do by far is art, though, and she is always, always busy drawing something, coloring, painting...whenever she has a spare moment. Daddy is so proud.

Nathan is 12 and in 6th grade at East Elementary in Cambridge with Mrs Finnegan. His favorite subjects are Social Studies (especially American History and Egyptology) and Reading. His least favorite this year is math, he says. He also plays the clarinet in the band.

Nathan is still delivering the Ames Tribune every day, and has enjoyed being able to save quickly for major purchases, including a new bike, scooter, and more recently, a pet corn snake-his pride and joy.

Activities this year have included spring soccer, summer swim team, and fall soccer, as well as boy scouts, where he was just promoted to the rank of tenderfoot. He has really enjoyed the trips the scouts take throughout the year, especially the recent one with his dad to the SAC museum near Omaha this fall to earn his aviation merit badge. Upcoming adventures include a ski trip, the Klondike (winter camping), Merit Badge University, Spring Camping, and a summer trip to the Rocky Mountains for a week with the troop.

Nathan has finally joined the older youth activities at church this year, too, and has enjoyed the opportunity to socialize as well as the service projects. This Christmas the group wrapped Angel Tree gifts, and raised money to purchase several animals for a family, mosquito nets, and pay for the education of an AIDS child.

Tim is 11 this year, and in 5th grade in Mrs Fjelland’s class at East Elementary in Cambridge. His favorite subjects are Math and Science. He really enjoyed the Space unit and learning about constellations this fall. He was so excited to start band this year, and is the 3rd chair trombone player (out of 11!) He continues with his piano lessons, performing a duet with mom for his Christmas concert. He participated in 5th and 6th grade basketball this winter, and is doing a great job of keeping up with the 6th graders. He was on the swim team last summer, as well.

In November, Tim started dual-enrollment home schooling. So now, he does Social Studies, Reading, Spelling, Writing and English at home, and Science, Math, and Band at school. The change in his attitude toward school has been almost immediate. He works hard on his home school work in the morning, (and independently!). He is more organized with all his work, and is excited to go to school for Science and Math, and to see his friends at lunch and recess. He is a much happier kid, far less stressed out, and more tuned in to everything…what a difference.

In July, Tim took his “Ten-year-old” trip with Gramma and Grampa Fisher. They went all over the northwest! The trip included visits to Portland, Oregon, the Columbia River Gorge, Trout Lake, Washington, Mount St Helens, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Historic Columbia River Highway, tons of waterfalls, Crater Lake National Park and Lodge, the Redwoods National Park, and the Pacific Ocean. Whew! They brought back some beautiful pictures and Tim continues to give trip overviews to anyone who will listen.

Peter is 9 and in Mrs Larkin’s 4th grade class at East Elementary in Cambridge.  Mrs Larkin says Peter is a low-key, quiet, even-tempered boy. Clearly, she has confused Peter with some other child.

This year Peter started taking art classes at the Octagon in Ames. So far he has taken Drawing Foundations, Wheel Throwing (pottery), and Pinata Making. He loves the classes, and is looking forward to trying some new ones in the spring. He’s getting his first portfolio for Christmas.

Peter has been studying Tae Kwon Do for 3 years, and is preparing to take his junior black belt test, along with younger brother Nick. There is a lot of hard work to be done to get ready-going to class 4 times every week, practicing forms and learning Korean history and language. It is a huge commitment for a 9 year old, and we are so proud of him for sticking with it (especially through those days when it was the LAST thing he wanted to do…). He has learned a lot about the meaning of perseverance.

Peter also swam for the Ankeny Aquahawks last summer, and played 3rd and 4th grade basketball this winter.  He’s got endless energy.

Nick is in Ms. Fideler’s 3rd grade class at Ballard West Elementary in Slater. Nick really likes school. This is his second year with Ms Fideler, he decided he wanted to stay in her class when she switched from teaching 2nd to 3rd grade.

Nick is also working to prepare for his junior black belt test, with older brother Peter. He’s been practicing Tae Kwon Do for about 2 ½ years. It is really amazing to see how well an 8 year old can remember all the different movements and learn new techniques so quickly.

Nick had his 3rd season on the swim team last summer, and his first season with Ballard Soccer Club last fall, which meant a bigger field, more practices, more competitive games. The first week of practices, he said, “Mom, all we did was run and run and run!” Poor baby. He loves game days, though, and the weather cooperated into October, so we enjoyed them a little more, too.

In early summer, Nick spent a week at Gramma and Grampa Matthews house in Wisconsin, where he fished, swam, and generally ran all over the place. He had a camper all to himself at night-probably enjoyed the solitude….it’s hard to come by at home.

Maggie is 4 (5 in March), and started preschool at Miss Wendy’s in September. She is still ever the princess, and is totally engaged in a dress phase. Whenever she is presented with pants, no matter the weather, she crosses her arms and says, “OK, that is NOT a dress. That’s just pants.”

She was a “mermaid-princess” for halloween, (and for several days before and after), and had a very fine time panhandling for goodies. At one house, when the man handed her the candy, he said, “Good Night!”, and Maggie replied, “I love you! See you in the morning!”

Maggie continues as a part-time bus monitor for Ballard Schools. She supervises the kids on bus #2 while mom is driving. And back at the bus barn, she has about 6 “bus-grampas” to buy candy for her pretty much on demand.

Maggie has recently joined Tiny Tiger Tae Kwon Do. This December she became an orange belt. She’s the only girl in the class, and she has gone from being super shy and refusing to move, to joining in wholeheartedly (most of the time). She has learned kicking and punching and blocking, she knows how to count to 10 in Korean, knows her phone number and address, and also how to say “indomitable spirit”, which is a mouthful when you are 4. She even gets to break a board sometimes.

It is so hard to believe that kindergarten is coming in just a few short months…

Nathan turned 11 in September. He grew so much over the summer that he skipped a whole pants size, which just really ran the whole hand-me-down program off the tracks.

He is now a 5th grader at Ballard East Elementary in Cambridge, and his teachers are Mrs. Finnegan and Mrs. Fjelland. His favorite subjects are still math and reading, and he started band this year-clarinet.

In April Nathan got his first job delivering papers for the Ames Tribune. It took a while to get the hang of the routine, but now he's a pro. The only problem is his mean mom won't drive him unless there is lightning, but...the tips tend to go up when the weather is bad, and he won the lottery when a customer handed him $25 (!!!) as he trudged along in a December ice storm.

After school, papers and homework, Nathan goes to swim practice 4 nights a week with the Ankeny Aquahawks. This is his 6th (?) season with the swim team (he swam this summer as well) and his favorite events are breaststroke and freestyle. He also enjoys soccer in the spring.

Nathan also continues to participate in cub scouts as a WeBeLos 2, and will cross over to Boy Scouts in February. He still enjoys reading a lot, and is a bit bummed out there won't be any more Harry Potter. Eragon comes out this summer, though.

Tim turned 10 in November and is in Mrs. Larkin's 4th grade class at East Elementary. School is not Tim's favorite thing, but he's plugging along anyway, and he keeps his grades up-it helps to have great teachers!

Tim also started delivering papers this year, and he likes to race Nathan every day to get them done...on weekdays he usually wins. Saturday and Sundays are morning deliveries, though, which are always interesting, as Tim is not a morning person.

After a break from Tae Kwon Do this summer, Tim has joined again, and recently earned his brown belt. His favorite thing about Tae Kwon Do is sparring "and sometimes forms". He doesn't really like testing or tournaments, but usually enjoys practice and it's really helped improve his ability to focus, and his confidence. 3rd and 4th grade basketball season has started, and Tim is on a team with Peter this year. It's going pretty well, except for that one game where his mom rushed him out the door too fast and he put on hiking boots instead of basketball shoes. Oh, and he learned to water ski this summer, too!

Tim is pretty musical and is teaching himself to play the piano (with help from mom sometimes). He really likes learning to play the recorder in 4th grade band, and thinks he has decided on trombone for next year.

Peter turned 8 in March and is in 3rd grade. This is his last year at Ballard West Elementary in Slater. His teacher is Mrs. Angell.

Peter has a lot of energy....wow. Summer swim team and Fridays at the lake, camping in Wisconsin...nothing wears him down. Right now he's doing 3rd & 4th grade basketball with Tim and Tae Kwon Do with mom, Tim and Nick four times a week. He's also a Bear scout. When he does have free time he uses it to build elaborate items out of scrap wood in the basement (he's really crafty...), play marathon Star Wars miniature games with his brothers, ride his bike around Huxley at breakneck speeds, or leap from stair landing to stair landing. He has a lot to do, and when he doesn't, he's almost always in motion. You never hear Peter say "Mom, I'm bored."

His intense personality is fixed in stone, and it's the same as it was when he was two years old...a roller coaster of emotions...loud and proud, or sleeping so soundly he can't be woken...making homemade presents for everyone one minute, and then declaring loudly that we "are the worst mom and dad ever!" the next... helping Maggie learn to ride her bike one minute, and then teasing her incessantly the next. Hot and cold.

They all eat a lot, but Peter eats almost constantly-goes through about 2 bags of apples and a pack and a half of string cheese per week, granola bars, gallons of milk, bagels, ham sandwiches, bowls and bowls of cereal... we think he's the main reason we needed that extra fridge.

Nick turned 7 in July and is in Mrs Fideler's 2nd grade class at Ballard West Elementary.

As wild as Peter can be, Nick is steady and serious about almost everything...school, sports, play, everything. He likes to have things done the way they are supposed to be done! He can be very stubborn, and likes to have the last word.

He has a lot of fun, though, and likes to try out everything. He joined cub scouts this spring (Wolf), and did his first swim season this summer with all his brothers. He loved it, and by the end of the season was able to keep up enough to practice at the same time as the older boys (thank goodness because we were really having to spend a lot of time at the pool!).

He continues with Tae Kwon Do and earned his brown belt in October. That is his favorite activity-he loves almost everything about it, eagerly goes to class about 4 times each week, and learns new forms so quickly. At a tournament in November, he took 1st place in his age group's sparring.

Nick keeps a journal (!?!), likes to read non-fiction books (just the facts, please...), and is the only boy in the house who actually puts his clothes in the dresser when asked to put them away. He is a really picky eater, and appears to be able to survive on a steady diet of sandwiches and buttered corn. However, he does not turn away ice cream.

Maggie is 3. She is home full time with mom, which often turns out to be a lot of errand running away from home. But she gets to have a lot of lunch dates with dad, too, while out, so it's ok. Every day with Maggie brings a new reason to laugh. She is so high-spirited and enthusiastic about life. Everything is a new incredible adventure for her, whether we're going to see Gramma or just folding socks... it's hard to be unhappy when she is around.

At home she really likes to play "picnic" with all her play-food, and makes elaborate meals for all the stuffed animals-they are very well fed. Maggie still loves Dora the Explorer, but is branching out into Olivia lately, (thank goodness!). Next year she will be a preschooler at Miss Wendy's! Where have the years gone?! She also likes to play outside, and was delighted with the early snows and all the ice for "ice-scaping" (skating).

Maggie got a job this fall with Ballard Schools as a bus monitor. While mom drives an afternoon route, she tells the kids to "sit down and be quiet!". She also makes sure to let mom know that the bus is too hot or too cold, and "don't forget to check for kids in the seats!" when the route is done. She's very thorough.

She is learning all sorts of hilarious and not-so-hilarious phrases from her older brothers...like "Oh yeah, baby!", and "Go Peter, it's your birthday...!", and others ..."Shhh! I'm on the phone!", "Watch the attitude, mister!", and "Look at my butt!" Nice.

Nathan is 10! Wow! He got the long awaited pocket knife for his birthday in September, and spent all of his birthday money on an Airsoft Pellet Gun. So most of the sticks in the yard are now shorn of their bark and have points whittled onto them, and the birds seem to be staying away. Hmmm...

He goes to Ballard East Elementary in Cambridge with the 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Mrs. Larkin is his teacher. His favorite subjects are math and science, and his least favorite is spelling-but he's learning that regular practice yields results!

This year Nathan played spring soccer with the 10-and-unders...bigger field...lots more running. He had his second summer with the Ankeny swim team, and really got into the swim of things, so to speak...so much so, that he decided to go out for the winter season as well.

Nathan loves to play games-with his dad, with his brothers (when they'll agree to play what he wants), with his Uncle Jim, and if he's really desperate, his mom. He particularly enjoys Star Wars Miniatures, but also Harry Potter (a trading card game), Risk, and Monopoly, Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, and Scene It. He also loves playing Star Wars Battlefront and The Battle for Middle Earth on the computer.

Nathan continues to be involved in scouts, too. He graduated to WeBeLos in May, and went to both day camp and Resident Camp at Mitigwa. He also likes to read a lot, everything from Harry Potter to Garfield to The Hobbit and of course Star Wars!

Tim turned 9 in November and is in 3rd grade. This is his last year at Ballard West Elementary in Slater. His teacher is Mrs. Angell. Tim's buddy Riley went with the 4th graders to East this year, but Tim is making a few new friends and is enjoying being one of the big kids at school. He says his favorite subject is math...but that seems to change on a weekly basis. He does really well in spelling, and is pretty proud of that. He also enjoys "Mileage Club" at school, and has walked over 15 miles in his first semester at school (during recess).

Tim's hobbies include Nintendo, Yahtzee, light-saber dueling, Playmobile, practicing Tae Kwon Do, skateboarding and roller blading (which he really has a knack for), and thinking about explosions.

Tim had his first season on the swim team this summer. He had a great coach to help him learn the ropes, and by the end of the season, he was really improving...except for that one meet where he decided to swim both the first and second legs of his relay.

Tim decided to join his brother Peter at Tae Kwon Do in June. He really likes learning new forms and learning to spar. He just graduated to green belt this December.

Basketball season has started, and Tim has moved up an age group...3rd & 4th grade basketball means more kids on the court, and things move a bit faster. That's been somewhat of an adjustment, but he says he's having fun, so....ok.

Tim likes to read, and his hands-down favorites this year have been books in The Captain Underpants Series. Number 8 in the series...The Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People was released recently...it was extremely exciting.

Peter is almost 8. He is in 2nd grade with Mrs. Elleby at West. Peter really likes his teacher. But his favorite subject still by far is art, and although he has only grudgingly accepted that other subjects are important as well, he does a really good job-even if it's only because he has to. His teacher reports that he likes to go to use the bathroom a lot. We think he just likes to go take a walk a lot.

Peter is becoming a good writer, in addition to three letters to Santa this season...in admiration of his past work, with a few hopeful hints-3 pages long-concerning this year's needs...he also writes a lot of great stuff at school. Here is a sample...

DECEMBER 5, 2006....I'VE SAVED UP FOR MANY THINGS. BUT MOST OF IT IS CANDY. I'VE SAVED UP FOR ICE CREAM, TOYS, AND MANY OTHER THINGS. I'VE EVEN BEEN SAVING UP FOR GAMES TO PLAY AT RESTAURANTS. AND I SOMETIMES ALSO SAVE UP FOR A CAMERA. I REALLY LIKE TO SAVE UP FOR THINGS. BUT I AM ALMOST BROAK. (sic)

Peter did fall soccer with his brother Nick, and they had a lot of fun with it. Peter honed his drama skills by falling down at nearly every opportunity....huge, tumbling falls-stuntman quality.

He's still working hard at Tae Kwon Do, and at his last test he got to meet Grand Master Jung, who is the founder of our Tae Kwon Do school. Peter is on track to test for his brown belt in February, and hopefully will have an opportunity to do a tournament sometime soon, too.

Nick is 6 and is in Mrs. Hedges 1st grade class. Nick likes school and he is really getting to be a good reader. He just started his first chapter book-Adventures of Little Bear.

He's pretty friendly with a lot of kids, but one of his best buddies is Tanner, who lives right down the street, and they play together a lot outside when the weather's nice. They even did a couple sleepovers this summer, and Tanner joined us one Friday at the lake, too.

Nick is finally getting to be old enough to do those things he has had to just sit and watch his brothers do since, well, his birth. He did fall soccer this year, which went off without any asthma (hooray!), joined Peter and Tim at Tae Kwon Do in August, and is looking forward to his first basketball season after the holidays. Recently he swam 200 yards, while Pete looked on in amazement...so... it looks like he's ready to do swim team this summer, too with the other boys.

Nick likes to play Nintendo Game Boy, Rokenbok RC(he excels as forklift operator...), Yahtzee, Playmobile, Star Wars Light Saber Dueling, and is working towards becoming SORRY! champion of the world.

Always our pickiest eater, Nick branched out this year and added tomatoes (but only tiny, cooked, and chopped up) to his diet, which currently consists mainly of bread, peanut butter, fruit, pudding, yogurt, hot-dogs, macaroni and cheese, plain noodles, carrots, corn, and cookies.

Maggie will be 3 in March. She is taking Nick's place as full time benchwarmer. She has all day to play with mom at home, but many evenings and Saturdays find her being taxied around to drop off, pick up, or sit and watch brothers in Ankeny, Slater, Huxley and Cambridge for sports, scouts and school events. She's a trooper, though, and doesn't seem to mind, especially when she gets to bring along "PINK TV!!!!!", and watch a Dora the Explorer DVD.

Of course she wants to do all those fun things, too. She likes to practice her "super soccer kick" on the sidelines at their games, she likes to ride her bike and "shoot hoops" and her "Kwondo" moves are awesome.

To make up for all that time in the car-Maggie and Jen go to meet Pete for lunch once or sometimes twice a week when we're in Ames running errands-something her brothers never got to do at that age. She has a great time peeking at the other diners and trying new special foods and usually manages to get a few sips of pop, too.

She also gets to have a special visit with Great Gramma and Grampa Carter every other Wednesday when mom takes brothers to a movie. She loves those visits.

"Tea Party Picnic" is very important business. It usually starts right after breakfast, and everyone is invited. Lately many of the Nativity figures are present as well....the donkey is particularly well fed.

In sharp contrast to last year, Maggie is talking a blue streak now. She likes to try out phrases she hears from Dora, especially, like "Papi, I'm so happy to see you!" when daddy gets home. She also likes to play "talk on the phone", and will have lengthy conversations with .......? We're sort of surprised she hasn't dialed 911 yet. Any day....

Nathan turned 9 September 17...he is in Mrs. Angell's 3rd grade class. This will be Nathan's last year at West. Next year he will join the 4th, 5th and 6th graders at East. Nathan likes school, especially math and science and loves to read. He finished Harry Potter 6 in August and also enjoys Spiderwick, Lemony Snicket, and Star Wars books. He has been sneaking peeks into books during class time, making his teacher crazy..."What teacher wants to tell a kid to stop reading?!?!", she says...

Spring soccer starts again soon, and this will be Nathan's first year with the older groups...he's pretty excited to get out there. Summer will put swim team back on the schedule as well.

When Nathan is not in school or reading, his chief objective is to get his mother to let him play video games. He received Battlefront 2 (Star Wars game) for Christmas and simply does not think an hour every other day is enough time to restore peace to the galaxy.

Nathan also has his first pet (of his own). He proved himself this fall by taking consistent care of the turtles and lizards, and so Santa brought him a Betta fish to keep in his room. So far so good...

In December Nathan completed the requirements for his Bear badge in scouts. He'll work on building arrow points until this spring, when he will become a Webelos scout. He also began serving at church for the first time in December.

Tim turned 8 November 17 and is in 2nd grade at West. His favorite subjects are math and spelling, and he does very well at handwriting, too, when he takes his time. Tim loves his teacher, Mrs. Jensen, and declared in the fall, "I only like school when my teachers are pretty."

This January, Tim will start basketball for the first time. Dad has been working with him a bit on the basics, and he is handling the ball with more confidence, so hopefully he will have a lot of fun with it. Tim will also be in soccer again this spring, and will start swim team in the summer, too.

Tim's favorite thing to do is play with his buddy Riley, and he also likes to read...his favorites include the Captain Underpants series and Junie B Jones books. Tim loves video games...he prefers to use Game Boy Advance, though (Nathan likes the PC). Tim's favorite games are Spiderman, Mega Man, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spongebob. Tim also has developed disturbing expertise in a game called Bullseyeball. The game involves bouncing a tiny steel ball off a mini "tramploline" and into a target. He has developed several techniques for increased speed and consistency. We keep meaning to check online to see if there's an all time record or something...he's got to be close....we're so proud.

Tim is anxiously awaiting warmer, drier weather so he can try out his new skateboard that Santa brought!

Peter is almost 7. He is in 1st grade with Mrs. McCormick at West. Peter really likes his teacher but has been somewhat disappointed to discover that first grade is not much like kindergarten. His favorite subject hands down is art, and he feels everything else could just really do him a favor and go away, except maybe recess and lunch. In spite of this attitude, he does do well in school, and although it has been reported that Peter is often in a galaxy far far away, he must be absorbing something.... his math, reading and spelling are right on target, and he certainly has plenty of information to share at the end of the day.

Peter is starting to read chapter books...he is about halfway through a Bionicle series book, and also enjoys the Peter Rabbit series...especially Jeremy Fisher...he's sure he is somehow related to his gramma and grampa Fisher...

Peter likes the new Harry Potter PC game Santa brought for Christmas, but generally he is not as interested in video games as his brothers. He would rather spend time with paper, pencils, crayons, paint, scissors, tape, markers, yarn, glue, clay...by dinnertime our dining room table is usually covered with these items...He also enjoys dressing up with Nicholas, and sometimes Tim, as a Jedi, Harry Potter, a ninja turtle, and Legolas (from Lord of the Rings).

Peter started Tae Kwon Do in December, and Santa brought him his first dobok (uniform). He has learned to count in Korean, and we are amazed with the skills he has learned in such a short time. He will also start soccer in the spring and swim team this summer.

Nicholas is 5 and 1/2 and is having a blast in kindergarten. Mrs. Vermeer says he is doing really well, and he especially enjoys math and "centers". He has made lots of friends in his class, and we had to laugh when he came home with a girl's phone number one day! "She just gave it to me, mom...". He has one close friend, Tanner, who lives down the street. They are pretty tight at school and have had fun playing at each other's houses, too.

Like his brothers, Nicholas enjoys playing Game Boy....his favorites include Harry Potter, Spongebob and Batman. Nicholas is a big Batman fan. He has a costume complete with belt, cape, mask, a "laser-shooter-thingy" and Santa brought him the Batmobile for Christmas...so he's all set. We are reading a Batman adventure book, too.

Nicholas likes to spend time outdoors, so he is really looking forward to spring when he doesn't need quite so much gear to be out. He will start his second year of soccer this year. He wants to be in Tae Kwon Do, basketball, scouts and swimming...but he's "not quite old enough yet". If Nicholas were to write an autobiography, that would be the title.

Nicholas has a promising career as a barber...he has moved past experimenting with scissors on his own hair (and you know it takes some skill to cut hair that short!), to his first customer...Maggie.

Maggie will be 2 on March 12. As you can see from the picture, she is a stinker. We may dress her like a princess, but do not judge this book by it's cover. She draws on walls, people, furniture and clothes. She dips toothbrushes in dog-water and she drinks out of the toilet. She strips her clothes off at the store and knows to go straight to the Doritos when she's unsupervised.

But we are just so madly in love with her-isn't that crazy?!

Maggie is a big time Dora the Explorer fan. As soon as "the bubbas" leave for school, Dora is on. She likes to watch that while mom gets a bit of work done, and then we usually run an errand or two, play for a bit before lunchtime, and then she naps from noon until about 3:30, when "the bubbas" are coming back home.

She also loves to be read to, play with all her babies-Santa brought a new one for Christmas, and get into whatever is available for getting into...and with four older brothers around, that means pretty much everything...

Every two weeks she goes to visit Great Gramma and Grampa Carter at their house while mom takes the boys to a movie. She loves those visits!

Nathan is 8 almost 9. He is will be a 3rd grader at Ballard West this fall, in Mrs Angell's class. Nathan summer has been busier than anyone's .After spring soccer season was finished, he joined the Ankeny YMCA Aquahawks swim team, and has been steadily improving his times each meet. He has learned a lot and is looking forward to having some of his brothers join him in the pool next year. Nathan has also been very busy with cub scouts, earning his wolf badge and working towards his bear badge while attending two cub scout summer camps.

He spent a week in early June at Gramma and Grampa Matthews cabin in Chippewa Falls, catching fish, trampolining with the neighbor kids, and playing poker.

Nathan has been anxiously awaiting the new Harry Potter book, and of course the new Harry Potter movie in November...He loves playing games-Poker and Star Wars miniatures in particular...sometimes he gets to stay up really late and play with Uncle Jim or Dad.

He has moved out of the attic bedroom and into the west bedroom at home, and is really enjoying having his own space for the first time since he was, well, 2 years old.

Tim is 7 and will be 8 in November. He will be in Mrs Jensen's 2nd grade class at Ballard West. Tim has been involved in spring soccer, and also Huxley's summer library program. He likes to spend his time reading (has his own library card this year), drawing, catching butterflies, raising monarch caterpillars, killing giant wasps to protect his mother, rollerblading, riding his bike around and around the block, and generally living in the moment.

He had a great time camping for a week in Wisconsin when we went to visit Gramma and Grampa Matthews around the 4th of July, and loves to go to the Lake Panorama on Fridays. He even got to bring along his buddy Riley in June.

Tim is finally tall enough to go down the waterslides at the pool alone, and he spends most of his time doing that when we go to the Ankeny pool.

Tim loves Star Wars, and likes to reenact the latest movie with whoever will cooperate...

Hilarious ....We're sitting down eating dinner...a chicken and rice dish, Tim says, "Mom, where does chicken come from?"

Peter turned 6 in March and, like Tim, has just been living in the moment for most of the summer. He, too, spends part of each day protecting his mother by exterminating giant wasps in our neighborhood.

Spring Soccer, camping in Wisconsin, library program, , Fridays at Lake Panorama, riding bikes around the block, and loads and loads of art projects at the dining room table..lately involving a lot of scotch tape.

Peter also loves Star Wars, and has a fabulous General Grievous impression where he holds a lightsaber in each hand and a stick (pretend it's a lightsaber) between his toes...it's excellent.

Pray for Peter-he has shown a distressing tendency towards head wounds...This July he managed his fourth serious incident (in as many years) when he didn't duck quite far enough under some playground equipment, resulting in staples...

Peter will be in Mrs. McCormick's 1st grade class at Ballard West, with his cousin Jenna!

Nicholas has just turned 5 and has been so very happy since his brothers have been home for the summer. It has been so hard for him to be home with no one to play with except mom and Maggie, who are just really not as much fun as big brothers,

This year, Nicholas finally got to be a part of spring soccer, swimming lessons, library, and in the fall will finally go to kindergarten at the big school with his brothers.

Nicholas has moved out of his old bedroom on the 2nd floor (which Nathan now happily occupies), and into the attic bedroom with Peter and Nicholas. He loves being up there with them...finally...

We can't feel too sorry for him, though, he does get to enjoy a bit more freedom and independence than his older brothers did at the same age.

Nicholas has turned into a fish...on Fridays at the lake, where he spends the whole day in the water, he works on different strokes, throwing himself off the dock or the boat, and floating around face down for disturbing lengths of time trying to check out what is on the bottom. Moms at the pool do double-takes when they see Nicholas, who is fairly small for his age, floating face down...and not taking a breath, and still not taking a breath...he needs some snorkeling gear, I think...

steady diet of sandwiches and buttered corn. However, he does not turn away ice cream.

Maggie turned 1 on March and since she finally learned to walk in May, is toddling around all over the place. She is learning to say a few little words, but mostly likes to make silly noises with her tongue.

Her favorite activities include emptying the art cupboard, checking the water level in the toilet, testing the dog's food for freshness, table walking, inspecting the tv on/off button, and recently...random parental stress testing-which involves Maggie standing at the very edge of the top step and then pushing up onto tip-toes.

She still has a big bright smile for most anyone she crosses, and adores her brothers and their antics, although she has been known to get upset when their wrestling gets too rough-worried about them...

She naps once a day for 3, usually 4 hours. She'd probably nap in the morning, too, but her brother's schedules don't really allow for that, and we are so lucky she is as good natured as she is and doesn't seem to mind being trotted around to all the different places we need to go.

Maggie doesn't realize how quiet it will be here at home in late August when every one of her brothers will be gone all day at school!

Nathan is 8! We can hardly believe that little 5 lb 13 oz. baby is a 2nd grader. Nathan is quickly growing "too big for his own britches", but thankfully not all the time just yet. He is in Miss Courtney's class at Ballard West, where he is improving his reading and spelling, working on fractions in math, and loves science. His teacher says he always has so much to offer and share! (But he just needs to raise his hand first!) To kick off the winter, the whole school got to go see The Polar Express in the theater. Now that's a field trip!

At home Nathan likes to play his Gameboy, Monopoly, Dungeon, and listen to Harry Potter books-on-CD. He's midway through The Goblet of Fire and eating up every word. He and Jen spend a little of each evening discussing the story.

Nathan is of course excited for Christmas, and although he was becoming a little skeptical about Santa, managed to become a full time believer just in time for the holidays. Good thinking, Nathan. You don't want to burn any bridges.

This fall: Jen-"What are you doing, Nathan?" Nathan, just sitting thoughtfully in a chair replies "Waitin' for my birthday. When it gets to 3 days left I get that good feeling."

Tim turned 7 in November. He really likes school, and especially his teacher, Miss Van Slyke, who is working hard with him on staying focused-a huge task, as he is both seven years old, and a boy. Double trouble. Tim's has made huge strides in reading, of which he is so proud, he's really got the knack for spelling, and is getting faster with his math facts, too. This week, though, he says science is his favorite.

Tim likes Spongebob, Harry Potter, Star Wars, playing Rokenbok with brothers, reading Dr Suess books, and making Maggie laugh when we ride in the van.

He is so imaginative, and he prefers to play "lets pretend" over anything else. It makes him hard to shop for! But it's so fun to see the games he invents to entertain himself and his brothers.

Tim has no doubt Santa is coming, at least for him, and frequently points out to misbehaving brothers that "The birdies are watching and will tell Santa if you don't be nice to me!"

Peter is 5 1/2 now and is having a great time in Mrs. Vermeer's kindergarten. He can be a challenge to get out the door in the morning (understatement of the year), but once at school, he's totally in his element. One of our favorite things about Peter are all the funny things he says. We find ourselves writing down his quotes more often than anyone's. Jen-"What are you going to do today, Peter"...Peter-"Make a sword of course."

Peter, examining a funny looking pepper from the garden- "This pepper looks like it's trying to kiss me!"

Jen explains to Peter that we have to take dad in to work today, because the car is getting fixed. Peter, not wanting to get out of his warm bed, groans "Doesn't dad just have his own car??

Watching Maggie have a bath on the morning of her Baptism, Peter reasons..."Well, she's not really getting Bathtized here you know, she's getting Bathtized at church."'

Watching Star Wars-Luke and Leia are just talking. Peter throws out his arms, and says in an exasperated tone " Oh come ON! just get to to the AT-ST part!"

Nicholas 4 1/2, is having a great year at Miss Wendy's preschool. He is diligently writing out all eight letters in his name on all the projects he brings home. We thought for sure this would turn him into a Nick, but he seems to want to be a Nicholas for now!

He is a reindeer in the Christmas program at preschool, and his line is, "I'll tie on the bows!" We've been practicing very hard.

Nicholas has joined his brothers at Sunday School this year, and every week the teachers say he gives thanks for his baby sister. What a sweetheart! The boys all really enjoy Sunday School, and learning the bible stories presented in St John's Godly Play program. The language during the service is still a little fuzzy though...

Nicholas, talking to Tim and eating some nuts....Nicholas-"What kind is that one?" And Tim says, "That's an almond." Nicholas replies, "Yeah, we say that at church."

Amen.

Maggie was 9 months old December 12, and is growing too fast! We finally had to move her mattress down to the lowest level when Jen caught her doing a chin up (and then some!) in bed. She has also decided to try out the stairs, so we have reluctantly put up the gates again to keep her corralled on one floor. She is so quiet when she moves around, so it's easy to lose track of her! The boys are pretty helpful in keeping her out of trouble, though, and they are learning to keep their things out of her way.

She is such a happy, contented little person, smiles for everyone she sees, in spite of stubborn ear infections since early November. She loves all those big brothers, and they are spoiling her with so much love and attention. They cannot stand it if she is sad!

Milestones over the past few months include crawling, standing alone for a few seconds, stair climbing (!), and trying out lots of new food. She's eating like her brothers now-Cheerios in the morning, PB&J at lunch, and mashed-whatever-we're-having for dinner.

Maggie doesn't care that much about the Christmas tree, or any of the other decorations, but she thinks the presents are just wonderful, and is making up for all her brothers lack of interest at the same age by ripping in to every loose corner she can wiggle her fingers under. There is a lot of extra tape being used this year...

Nathan turns 8 in September, and will be a second grader this year in Miss Courtney's class at Ballard West in Slater. He just got his own library card and likes to spend time reading Star Wars books he checks out, playing Star Wars Monopoly, watching Star Wars movies, thinking about Star Wars, waging light saber battles with his brothers, looking at Star Wars magazines, playing Star Wars Nintendo games, building Star Wars lego vehicles, and dreaming about Star Wars at night.

He does have other interests, too, sort of...he likes to play in the sand box building Cloud City, ride his new bike (with gears and hand brakes!), pardon me, Land Speeder, and play with Daddy and Uncle Dan's old Star Wars figures.

Nathan just went on his first sleepover for a birthday party at a friends house. Thursday afternoons he goes to the library for a summer reading program. He also likes to help around the house to earn a little money-unloading the dishwasher, putting toys away, and weeding in the garden.

Tim turns 7 in November, and will be in Miss Van Slyke's first grade class at Ballard West. Tim made great strides in reading last year, and has been reading some books to us this summer. He also goes to the library for their summer reading program on Thursdays.

Tim lost his very first tooth this summer, and is working on several others. He likes to ride his bike, play Star Wars with his brothers, swim and especially fish. Tim is so far this year's most patient fisher-boy, throwing out the line and just waiting, and it pays off-he reels them in consistently while his brothers run all over the dock, jockeying for position, hooking trees on the bank, and contemplating the degree of sag in their bait...

Camping out is a favorite this summer, and about once a week Tim and Nathan set up a tent on the back porch and sleep out there for a night or two.

Peter is 5 now and will be in Kindergarten at Ballard West in the fall. His teacher will be Mrs Vermeer (formerly Miss Mowen, she taught Nathan and Tim, too, and got married this summer...).

Peter loves to make things, draw things, paint things, build things-he is super creative, and especially talented with markers and paper. He proudly presents us with his creations almost daily-of the garden, of Star Wars characters, of the house, or whatever he is thinking about...he makes elaborate valentines for Maggie and always puts them in a handmade envelope for "sending", always signed at the bottom with a very neatly written PETER.

He loves riding his bike, and is riding his own bike this year when we go on the trail-6 miles is a really long way when you only have 16 inch wheels!

Peter is 2nd only to Nathan in Star Wars obsession. He learned to whistle this spring, and you can always find Peter by listening for the Imperial March. Very handy at mealtimes...

Nicholas is 4, and FINALLY gets to go to school like his brothers. He will go to Miss Wendy's Preschool this fall- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. He is SO excited!

Nicholas likes board games, trips to the park, butterfly hunting, bike riding (he rides the trail-a-bike when we go for long rides), nintendo, helping to cook dinner, and following his big brothers around...

He is also getting to be a good swimmer-thanks to lots of time at the Ankeny pool and the lake.

Nicholas likes camping out on the porch, too-he and Peter camp together one or two nights each week.

He's not our baby anymore, and he seems ok with that...

Maggie is growing fast, but is still our Special-Tiny...We are relieved her hip is well, and are enjoying her so much.

She has recently learned to roll over, front to back, and back to front, and is almost ready to sit by herself. As the fifth baby, she has about a billion toys- and four eager assistants to show her what to do with them.

She has settled into a nice routine, sleeping an average of 10 hours at night, and taking two 3 hour naps during the day.

She is such a sweetheart, very calm...she loves to be held and talked to, and hasn't minded being trotted all over the place to her brothers' activities-a very good thing!

Nathan is entering 1st grade this year. He will be in Ms. Raineri's class at Ballard West in Slater. His favorite activities include (not necessarily in order) Pokemon, fishing and swimming, UNO, bossing his brothers, riding bikes, catching bugs and especially butterflies, Nintendo, Bionicle, Legos, and Gramma time.

This summer Nathan has been employed in his home doing work in the garden, and more recently, unloading the dishwasher for 25 cents. He is diligently saving for a Nintendo Game Boy Advance, which he is hoping to purchase as his 7th birthday approaches in September.

Nathan has promised to help Tim through his first days of kindergarten.

Nathan says we are having a boy baby.

Tim is 5 years old, and he will be in Ms. Mowen's kindergarten class at Ballard West in Slater. He is extremely excited about all aspects of kindergarten, but especially about carrying his lunch to school in his new Spongebob-Squarepants lunchbox, and using his new school supplies and his new blue backpack.

Tim is by far our most creative and imaginative. He is always engaging in some new playtime drama, and using toys in ways for which they were not originally intended.

Like Nathan, Tim is getting to be a good swimmer, and has spent a lot of time in the water practicing his front crawl and getting up the courage to try tubing, which he has done once and is now completely obsessed with.

Tim learned to ride a bike this summer-he is very proud of his new bike.

Tim says we are having two babies. Once again, he is very imaginative.

Peter is 4 now and he learned to ride a two wheeler at the end of July. He is really enjoying taking his new big-boy bike to the church parking lot across the street from us, and finally keeping up with his bigger brothers.

Peter has made huge strides with his swimming skills-we credit our new pet turtles. He took a good look at them swimming though their tank, and the next week he was diving underwater saying "I'm a turtle!" Peter can also dive into the water from the pool edge or a dock-something his older brothers will not dare try-it's very entertaining, and he's so very proud of himself.

Peter will go to Miss Wendy's Preschool this year, and he will be in the Monday-Wednesday-Friday afternoon class. He is pretty excited and "a little scared", he says.

Peter is very interested in the whole "we're having a baby" concept. Every time Jen sits down to eat he says "Are you helping the baby grow, mom?"

Peter says we are having a girl baby.

Nicholas is still the baby, something we need to start working on, soon. He is our snuggliest little boy, crawling into a lap for a quick love, and then moving on.

Nicholas turned 3 in July, and is not happy that everyone else is going to school except him. When told that he couldn't go to preschool until he is 4, he replied "But I can go to kindergarten?" Sorry, buddy.

Nicholas likes to go to the pool and finally he has conquered the "little slide" (a 20 foot slide that goes into the shallow end).

He and Peter are getting to be good buddies, and like to spend time collecting crickets to feed our lizards, and butterflies that stupidly venture into our yard.

Nathan is 5.

Tim is 4.

Peter is 3.

Nicholas is 2.

Nathan is 4.

Tim is 3.

Peter is 2.

Nicholas is 1.

Nathan is 3.

Tim is 2.

Peter is 1.

Nicholas is new.

Nathaniel Jordan.

Timothy Andrew.

Peter David.

Nicholas Daniel.

Margaret Lillian.