THE EVANS FAMILY: September 2021

We are so thankful to get to go to Legoland again this year. Our plan was to go last year but because of Covid-19, the theme park was closed. It was nice to get to go this year and an extra year of growth allowed all three kids to do more rides than they would have been able to the year before.

We stayed at the Legoland Castle Hotel this stay which is right outside of Legoland and has a large breakfast buffet included. Plus they have many activities for the kids to do like meeting Lego characters, stretching in the morning, and trivia.

On Monday morning, we hit up Legoland for our first full day! Since we were staying at a Legoland hotel, we got to go into the park an hour before it officially opens and could ride about 6 rides.

The carousel was Kade's favorite

This was my favorite!

This was one of Ember and Reece's favorite. And they were so brave!

Day 2 (Reece's birthday!) we went to SeaWorld! We didn't get to do everything in our one way but what we did do was a lot of fun!

This was a pretty BIG roller coaster that Ember was just tall enough to do. She loved it and did it multiple times with us!

These little cleaner fish were one of the highlights of our day. They would immediately swim over to your hand or finger when you put your hand in the water and start eating off dry skin and particles. It was VERY ticklish.

We got to meet Elmo!!

The infamous orca show! It is just as amazing as an adult as I remember it being back as a kid. They are definitely a magnificent part of God's creation.

Kade got some good quality time with these fish and sting rays since he couldn't go on the Journey to Atlantis ride that was one of the kids favorites.

Turtles!

Our last full day was spent at Legoland again! We definitely got to do everything that we wanted here multiple times!

Reece got to wear his new Ninjago shirt he got for his birthday and got a birthday pin.

The Sealife Aquarium was included with our Legoland tickets so we spent about an hour going through it.

This ride on its own didn't get you too wet but there was the option for bystanders to shoot guns at you from the side and totally soak you! Dustin and the kids got hit hard one time!

We got to watch a few short 4D Lego movies! Kade was hilarious with his glasses.

We had such a great trip! The weather was absolutely perfect! There were NO crowds at either park and the kids had cheerful and thankful hearts overall. It was a great trip and we are hoping we can go back one more time in the next few years. Since coming home, Kade says something along the lines of "On Friday, can we go to Legoland?" every other day or so! So thankful for the memories we could make as a family!

REECE TURNS 6!!!

Our sweet Reecy-Pie is SIX! Wow! Where does the time go? It is so fun to watch him continue to grow from being a little kid to a school aged kid. We are very proud of and thankful for him in our lives.

At age 6, Reece is about 44 inches tall and weighs about 40 pounds. Reece sleeps on a bunk bed with Kade. Reece is on the top bunk and Kade is on the bottom bunk. They go to bed around 7:45 on a normal night. Reece is our early riser and usually wakes up between 5:30 - 6:30. Thankfully, he has grown in staying quiet so that Kade can sleep in a little longer. Reece still sleeps with a sleep mask and also still puts his arm up to his mouth to fall asleep or to soothe himself. Reece still does a quiet time most days. He is in half day Kindergarten this year at Mountain School.

Reece is a lot of things but energetic, silly, and a follower sum him up pretty well. Reece hardly stops running, jumping, climbing all day. He is constantly going from point A - point B as fast as he possibly can. He needs reminded often to be a little quieter and to slow down. Reece loves to make people laugh and is constantly saying and doing things to try and get a laugh or response out of others. And he loves to do what the people he loves are doing. He still isn't usually the one to come up with the game to play but he loves going along with what others are doing. We are, however, constantly challenging him to make his own choices based on his preferences instead of just choosing what his siblings or friends choose. Reece can be such a sweetheart and brings me flowers that he finds at least once a week. He often randomly says "I love you" or "You are the best Mommy/Daddy ever." But he also knows how to push everyone in the families buttons. He is the most common denominator when it comes to trouble between siblings.

Reece honestly loves running. He is very fast and runs around the house, around the back yard, or almost anywhere that we go. He still loves pushing the backyard dump truck around (often with Kade sitting inside) and he rides the Plasma car or the big firetruck toy back and forth in the hall over and over until Mom and Dad can't stand the loudness any more. Reece still loves being tickled and asks for it often but not daily anymore. He loves his friends and his friends seem to love being around him as well. Reece loves riding his bike and really enjoys all the little dirt hills and jumps that are found scattered around our neighborhood. Reece started playing soccer for the first time and loves that. He also started Cub Scouts as a Lion and is really excited about that. Reece loves camping and especially throwing things into the campfire. He loves going on trips such as Mexico, Legoland, and The Great Wolf Lodge. He really loves going fishing in Mexico in the kayaks and catching crabs in buckets. Reece loves going to Peter Piper Pizza for a date with Mom or Dad and playing all the games. He loves sledding and eating snow. Reece is a pretty good eater overall and some of his favorite foods are: chia pudding, banana, yogurt, almond butter, honey, and banana in a tortilla, grapes, sausage, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and hot dogs. His absolute favorite food is cereal which he eats almost every morning when given a choice.

As far as Reece's favorite games and toys go - one things is clearly at the top of the list. Reece LOVES Legos and does them almost every day. He mostly enjoys using the instruction books to build a set and then playing with that set that he built. It is amazing that a boy that runs around constantly can sit and focus on a Lego set for a few hours. Reece also plays with his construction trucks and Hot Wheels cars often as well. He likes playing Go Fish, Uno, Old Maid, Mexican Train Dominoes, Head Bands, and Sorry. Reece likes playing Hide and Seek as a whole family. He is starting to enjoy drawing a little more and often draws people, monster trucks, crabs, and police cars. Reece really likes using scrapbook punches to punch hearts, stars, and circles out of paper. He enjoys playing with his siblings as well. Besides pushing Kade around in the dump truck and riding vehicles up and down the hallway, Reece also likes playing "Naughty Baby" with Ember and Kade as well as tag or Sharks and Minnows outside in the grass. Reece likes hitting the t-ball over the fence into the green belt and also just digging in dirt. Reece also loves petting and saying "hi" to the new neighbors two cats and dog that are now living next door to us.

Reece is very sweet at helping us with things and volunteering to do chores when I need someone to help but he struggles with having a cheerful attitude when it comes to his chores. Reece also greatly dislikes thunder, lightening, and rain storms after we got caught in a gnarly storm this summer biking home from the park. He is very concerned if we are going to be outside and there are clouds forming. There are certain foods that he dislikes such as salad and chewy meats. Reece gets frustrated when Ember can do something that he cannot and when Kade is trying to touch or take something that he is playing with.

It is amazing how much kids are learning at this age. Reece now can identify, write, and say the sound for all the letters of the alphabet. He is beginning to read simple books and words such as Bob books with some assistance. Reece has always loved numbers and spent the free time at school the first few weeks writing out the numbers 1-1000 with a friend. He can do basic addition and subtraction. Reece learned how to swim this past year and is really loving that because he can also now go underwater and do an actual cannonball.

Reece is very different than Ember and Kade in so many ways and it is so fun to watch his unique qualities and attributes come out. He is maturing and growing academically but also in his emotional capabilities and his awareness of being kind to others. We are so proud of our big 6 year old and so excited to see what this year holds for him! We love you, Buddy!

Birthday Fun:

Reece got an extra special birthday because we were on vacation in California for it!!

We started off with breakfast at the hotel and Reece got to open a present from his Mima and Pappy that was there with us.

Then we headed to SeaWorld and spent the entire day there!