Hayley Anna Campbell

Hayley on her first day of Kindergarten

Hayley on her last day. (Yes I know...I sent her to school in a dirty shirt. Oops.)

so today was my big girl's last day of Kindergarten. And yes.....ok....so I admit....it was harder on me then her first day was. Next year she will be gone full time and I will only have her on weekends. To most people this is a treat! To me it is sad. I will miss her, and more so, her sisters will miss her!!!!! They spend far more time outside when Hayley is around. Hayley is the one full of imagination. They say you only get 5 years to instill as much in them as you can and then they are out in the real world of peer pressure. I found some piano music the other day to a song called "a Mother's Prayer" and it says:

I pray you'll be my eyes

And watch her where she goes

And help her to be wise

Help me to let go

So there is my wish for my little girls as they go off to school.

This is in fact week of the ode to Hayley. Hayley is your typical first born personality. The dominent one, the perfectionist, the protector. She can be so shy and so outgoing all at the same time. Her sisters rely on her more than they will ever admit. They want her to lead the games etc...as long as she lets them win (which she does. As soon as they cry she gives them whatever they want to stop the crying.) She is such a perfectionist, that I have learned that you never pressure Hayley into doing ANYTHING! She will get there in her own time. Trying to teach her letters was so frustrating for both of us that finally I let it go and guess what??? She learned it just fine all by herself. I had to learn that she would ask when she needed help and if I said "No that's wrong" then there were tears and stress. Ahh.....the things our firstborns teach us about parenting. (Then the second comes along and we think we have it mastered only to find out we've been given a completely different child the second time around!!!)

I love my time with Hayley. She is so insightful and so we are starting to be able to have these little 'adult' conversations. Hayley has ALWAYS been our spiritual child. She loves to have the bible read to her (especially about Jesus death) and to sing the hymns. She told me the other day not to worry, that she would never dye her hair, because she 'wants her own special and unique color'. :)

Our firstborn refuses to have you see her cry. Frustrating sometimes when a few tears would make it seem that the spank had at least SOME effect, but alas she will run off to 'pee' and cry in the bathroom! It's a good thing there aren't many spanking anymore.

I can't believe that 6 years has gone by so fast. I remember the day she was born with such clarity and all the little "first time mom" mistakes we made with her. But I think, and I may be biased, that she is turning into a really wonderful little lady and I love her very much. She's my favorite oldest daughter. *heehee*

Other news....my friend Charlene and I went out for supper last night. We met at 5, had supper, went to wander around Chapters for a bit, then she drove me back to where I had left my van, and when I finally said "I guess I should get home", it was 11:00!!!!!! Steve is blown away that I could have a conversation with one person for 6 hours! And the thing was....we never ran out of things to say!! We only get together about once a month and I love it. She is so easy to visit with, and I love that she is such a positive person in spite of her situation, and she never gossips. Seriously!!! Of course we talk about what different people are up to etc, but she never has anything bad to say about anyone. She has 4 little boys around our girls' age so we understand the "single gender" feelings I guess. Now Rachel Falb, if you would just move here, our suppers out would be complete!!!

Steve has never understood why I take the kitchen mugs in the van for my tea when we go out somewhere. Well....there is just something about a mug that tastes better than a travel cup. So at Chapters the other day I found this:

Isn't it perfect? I have used it for all 6 cups of tea today.

Convention starts on Wednesday and I just can't wait. I decided that today would be my get ready day, and tomorrow would be my play with the kids day. So tomorrow we will go to the splash park or the playground.

Today I cleaned the house from top to almost bottom (not the storage basement). I ever re-glossed the slate!! Steve took our tent and his boss' trailer out to convention tonight so that's one less thing to worry.

Well I am exhausted so I am going to go lay in the tub.

I love you all

Steve, Jen and our 4 little blessings.

Abby Makayla Campbell

My dear sweet Abby. I actually had to look up how to spell her middle name because it is so rarely used. I call her abigail or Abigail Josephine (don't ask....I have no idea where it came from but it stuck). This is our intellectual child. She can tell you the month and day of her birthday and her sisters' birthdays when her OLDER sister doesn't even know the day of her own birthday. Things just come easy to Abby. She is adamant that she is going to be a doctor when she grows up, and it wouldn't surprise me. However, the other day she said she was going to have 10 kids and be a mom and then she was disappointed that she couldn't marry her dad because "Mom already married him," and now she just wants to live at home forever. Oh boy!!!

My prediction??? Abby is a mother through and through. She reminds me so much of myself that it is almost scary. She is very emotional and sensitive and over-reacts to everything. This is not going to be to her benefit as a teenager and I worry most about my Abby. She loves so deep and is hurt so easy. That being said, she has an inner strength that comes through at the most interesting times and assures me she will be just fine. For example when we went to soccer the first day and Hayley cried when I left her on her field and yet when I dropped Abby off (the one I thought would cling and cry and beg me to stay and watch) I said " Abby I just have to drop Hayley off and I'll come back" and she said "OK. Bye mom." So.....Abby will be fine. I've also witnessed her playing with her "confident leader-type friends" and she does not let them walk all over her.

Abby is finally beginning to overcome her bedwetting and is very mature and determined about it. After soccer everyone got pop, chips, and a freezie. She told them she didn't want the pop and then whispers "Because it'll make me pee the bed." She hasn't quite broken the lip biting habit, but with Abby, when she wants to stop that she will. She is a very determined little girl and we love that about her.

Abby is gorgeous both inside and out. Here's our Abster.

So we have had a very busy weekend. We started out by attempting to tent which the kids enjoyed and they all fell asleep fine. Steve and I discussed life around the campfire and then headed into the tent, at which time the neighbor's dog started barking and didn't stop ALL NIGHT LONG!!! At one point I rolled over and whispered "what time is it?" Thinking maybe midnight. It was 3:30 in the morning and we hadn't been asleep yet. UGH!

Then in the morning we went to preps. Another wonderful turnout. I got to have 7 kids with me on and off during the morning which was good. Just give em all a bucket and some supplies and trudge around the yard. Then we came home to cut down some trees but it was too hot so after cutting 1 down and having a marshmellow picnic in the yard we took our recycling in.

Got 45$ in recycling money that we used to take Kylie out for her birthday supper. They sang a really loud crazy song to her and the look on her face was HILLARIOUS!! She didn't know what to do or what was going on. It was so sweet. Then we went to Chapters and let them pull all the books off the shelf, and now we're all ready for bed.

Happy father's day tomorrow. I have a dad who's pretty well the best one ever. He's always been supportive of all my crazy ideas and I love him very much. My daughters also have this generation's greatest father. They are so lucky to have him. He's amazing.

Love to you all....here are pics of our crazy busy weekend.

The Campbell 6 :)

Kylie Rachelle Campbell

Whew....I just finished an amzing cardio workout. I had so much fun that I want to do ti again right away. The sweat was dripping down my face and back. It was great. Will have to actually stick to it this time. If I get 4 or 5 different routines maybe I won't get bored. One of the exercises is like football players when they sort of squat and then sprint in place. WOW!! My stomach and bum are going to jsut shake right off I think. Almost throws me off balance all the jigling.

So enough about me....lets talk weather. WHAT"S WITH ALL THE RAIN??!?!!! Stop it already. I need the sun to brighten me up. Everyone is commenting on how BLAH they feel these days with the damp cold weather. I don't think we will EVER get summer. Anyhow, as long as it is mild and NOT WET for convention I will be very happy. Remember weather man..... I have to tent!!!


Well here is the feature child of the week. All about Kylie (Australian for pretty) Rachelle (an aunt with that middle name and mom's closest friend named Rachel)

Kylie - easy to love and more trouble than all 3 other sister combined. She turns the big 3 this month!!!! She told the coach at soccer she was 4 and since she is as big as the 4 year olds, she got to join in!!!

Kylie loves everyone and everything. If you need a hug....kylie is there. If you need ANYTHING she will make sure you have it. The other day we had a busy day and I said "I am just going to lay down on the couch for 10 minutes and then I will get up and get supper." so Kylie ran up to her room and got me her favorite blanket and tucked it up around my shoulders.

Kylie is the one we have always called "simple" much to the dismay of her father and grandparents. However, in one sense it is true. The simplest things will make her smile and giggle and she is very happy with a simple life. Kylie is our "caregiver".

I now refer to her as The Specialist. It won't be long and we will have been to every single specialist possible!!! I wonder....did it all being with the infected belly button a few weeks after birth? Anyhow, first we went to the Pediatric Ophthalmology surgeon (kids eye surgeon) for her droppy eye. We started at the Stollery when she was a year old. We went every 4 months or so to have her eyes tested. That doc moved away and we went to a new one who immediately said (and we should have gone to him in the first place) "come back when she is 4.5 and we will fix her eyelid. Then he commented on mine and said it should be re-done. Wonder if they haev a 2 for 1 deal!!!

Next we were off to the audiologist to test her hearing. The verdict - mild hearing loss more prominent in the left ear. Both ear drums 'dull' or not as responsive as they should be. Now.....was this due to a cold? or is this why her speech seems odd and delayed? So now we are referred to a pediatric ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist for more testing. I would assume they are the ones who would put tubes in if she has fluid behind her ears.

We are also waiting for a speech assessment and that should be any time now. Oh Kylie....you are a mess. But a lovable one. Now.....quit fighting with you sisters!!! You know you always win!

Steve - a midweek ode to VIPs

This is Steve. My hubby. The most kind and gentle man you will ever meet. The perfect spouse and father. He has been letting me dress him lately. I've been having so much fun. We're going with an urban country style. He looks very very yummy in his big boy pants (aka. not baggy). In 2011 or 2012 we are going to go on a holiday together to St. Lucia. A place called Calabash cove resort and Spa. We are going to ride the zip-line through the rainforest and ride horesback on the beach...you can even swim with the horses. I am sooooooo excited. Now if I can find a job to pay for this trip it'd be great. Yes we are going to try and go without the little people. I'm not sure if I will survive that part of it, but hey....we're both turning 30 (totally over the hill as far as I'm concerned) and it is our 10 year anniversary, all in the same space of 4 months, so I need to do something special to avoid a mid-life crisis. Steve thinks I'm nuts, but 30????!!!! Common....that's OLD!!