Happy Birthday Abby!

Abby had a birthday this month. On September 8th she turned 6!! I can't believe it. Abby is our comedian of the family. We can always count on her saying or doing something funny. She is also the one who is the first to share. Whether it is candy, a toy, or whatever, I know I can count on her to share it with her brother or sister or a friend. Abby is so creative. I sometimes wonder if I should be mad at the lies she tells or impressed with creativity on the stories she tells. For example, she has told primary teachers that she has a new baby sister, that she was born in China (or Hawaii), that every Wednesday they get to eat lunch at the school (I could keep going, but I think I will stop). The day before her birthday she was able to have a friends party. She chose to do an American Girls Doll Tea Party. And of course I was too involved in the actual party to get many pictures. Here are all the girls at the girl table. We had a smaller table all set with play dishes and play food for their dolls.

Abby blowing our her candle.

This is one really happy kid!

And of course it wouldn't be Abby if she didn't hug EVERYBODY!

Here she is on her actual birthday. We woke her up early so she could open her presents before we had to go to football and soccer games.

Whenever I asked Abby what she wanted for her birthday she would just say, "I am sure I will love whatever you get me." Very sweet, but not helpful at all. So I got her clothes (which is this girls obsession), an Adele CD (which she somehow knew all of her songs), and a few other little things. And every time she opened a present is was this response:

You would have thought she had been waiting her whole life for it. I love that little girl and am so glad that she is a part of our family. HAPPY #6 ABBY!!

First Day of School

I just realized that I put these pictures in backwards! Oh well. I guess we will start with Abby... Abby had her first day of kindergarten today! She has been waiting for this day for a long time. She was READY to go! Here she is getting on the bus. What a big girl!

I still can't believe how big she has gotten.

So cute and stylin' for school.

Last week the older two started school. Here they are walking to the bus stop.

Cameron chose NOT to wear his new school clothes to his first day in 4th grade. Go figure...

And my beautiful McKenzie who is now in 6th grade

Basketball, Cycling, and Closing Ceremonies

I forgot to blog these last two events when we did them, but here they are: Basketball: We had our Olympic basketball game the other night. After shooting a few hoops it became apparent that this might go on all night long. So us girls politely stepped aside to let the boys (who could actually make a basket) play a PIG tournament. Cameron won 3 games to 1! Way to go Cameron!! Here is Abby attempting a basket.

Kenzie gave up trying, but found she could "dunk" without the ball.

Cameron is getting quite good at basketball!

Out next event was cycling. We decided that one on one racing might be the best way to go. We made a track on the sidewalks of the park and "timed" them. (we made Abby the fastest that day)

Here is the last look at our Olympic Flame!

And now it was on to the medals!! And the GOLD goes to.... EVERYONE (well they all had to be winners!)

I am so glad that we did this! The kids loved trying out new things. Unfortunately we didn't get all the events done that we wanted to do, life just got too crazy. Or the wind was too strong for our birdie (shuttle cock for Pug). But all in all we had a great time. Now we will have to see what we can do for the Winter Olympics in 2 years...

Track and Field

Today's events were track and field. We ran the "50 meter dash," through the discus (frisbee) and the shot put (bocce balls). Here are some of the pictures I took tonight. I hope we are able to do this again in another 4 years. We are having so much fun with it!

Gymnastics

Today's event for Stoddart Olympics was gymnastics on the tramp. Here are the pictures along with the results! Abby did a fine routine, with lots of falling on her head and several "I hope she doesn't break a bone." And ended up scoring an 8.5

Cameron increased his routine with a few handsprings, and only landed on his head once. He score a 9!

McKenzie WOWed us all with her back flips and back handsprings, clenching her spot on the top with a 9.25!

Pug and I did a routine as well (not pictures for obvious reasons). All in all it was a great day for gymnastics on the tramp!

Stoddart Family Olympics

We decided that we needed to do a Stoddart Family Olympics in honor of the summer Olympics taking place in London this year. So we made up a list of events we were going to do and got to it. Last night was our opening ceremony, complete with the flag processional and the lighting of the Olympic flame.

We also had our first event; volleyball!

Oh yeah, we also had a mascot design competition. Abby's won! I am not quite sure what it is supposed to be, but it was by far the most creative!

Run with a Rage 5K

Back on the 21st, Cameron's soccer club had a 5K fundraiser. It was loads of fun! There were lots of people there that came out to support us. Grandma and Grandpa Stoddart, Uncle Scott, and a few friends from Pug's work were there. One of our friends that had signed up to do the race ended up not being able to come, so Abby put her number on and was off racing with Grandpa. Somehow my pictures loaded backwards, but that's okay. So in reverse order here we are: Abby finished her first 5K in 49 minutes!

McKenzie and her friend Addy finished in 41 minutes (they walked a good share of it, cause it's cool to do that I guess)

My picture isn't here, but I finished in 33 minutes. Not too bad considering I wasn't even supposed to run yet because of my back. Cameron's first 5k was finished in 28 minutes! Way to go Cameron!!

Pug was first in the family finishing it in 27 minutes.