I Will Never

I always say, “I will NEVER send my child to church in high waters…”

But I did.

Would someone please remind me to buy him some new church pants this week.  Please.

Thank you.

Today’s Treasures

While discussing the impending arrival of another school day tomorrow, Colin said (with his most southern twang), “Why is it summer goes like this:  snap, snap, snah-up?  And school goes like this: snap…(pause)… snap…(pause)…snap?”

I didn’t have an answer.  But I loved the way he said, snah-up.

Today Connor proclaimed, “Mom, I know my first “times” math problem. 5x2=10.  And I think 49x2=98.”  I hate to admit but, I was only half listening and I said, “That’s right.” 

“It is?” he said.  Then I paused…calculated…and realized, “Yeah, that IS right, Connor!”  I was impressed and a tiny bit excited.  I love math.  Maybe he does too!

I was officially labeled, “Very out of shape” today while playing a friendly game of tether ball with Rhiannon.  I was winded two minutes in and needed a water break.  Even with my water breaks, she still beat me.  Who knew tether ball was so physically challenging?

Kess made me laugh today when she proclaimed, “I’m SO bored!  No one will play with me!  I’m sure glad I’m NOT an only child, because I would be bored ALL of the time!” 

I will definitely be reminding her of this in the near future.

Boys

 

After a very easy going, semi-unproductive day, I took the boys to the pool.  I have enjoyed our trips to the pool this summer.  It’s especially fun when I can take just a couple of the kids and spend more individual time with them.  Today’s trip included holding the tiny star ring, made for a toddler, while the boys tried to catapult into them.  Being the somewhat paranoid-type I insisted on holding the ring about 4 ft away from the wall.  It was hilarious watching how they would land on the tube.  Typically, poor Connor would land one foot in and one foot out, split-style.  He was not amused. 

Colin had fairly good aim and often went right through the middle, but tried not to panic when he felt the snugness of the tube.  There was fear in his eyes as he struggled to free himself. 

When that game got old I told Connor I’d pay him a dollar if he could climb on to the top of the tube without any help from me or the side of the pool.  The goal was to sit in the hole of the ring.  After several unsuccessful tries, I decided to make things a little more exciting.

“Connor, I’ll pay you a dollar if you can do it.  But you have to pay me a dollar if I can do it first.”  Evidently I was delusional.  Forgetting I’m in my mid thirties and completely out of shape I began launching myself onto a teeny tiny star shaped ring….in a swimsuit…er…dress two sizes too small.  I’m sure someone’s watching me on youtube at this very moment.  I obviously did not account for the fact that my butt is as wide as the entire circumference of the ring.  I owe Connor a dollar.

After dinner Rhiannon and Kess went off to a birthday party and Todd and I took the boys for a walk.  They have been saving their money so they could buy Connor a skateboard.  I love the fact that Colin was willing to donate his money to Connor so that they could skateboard together.  With skateboards in tow we headed down the walking trail. 

  Colin led the way.

Connor was close behind.

They tried out a new kind of skateboarding.

As always, it wouldn’t be a trip to the walking trail without a little exploring.

The adventure wouldn’t be complete without wet shoes, too!

Sweaty and tired we headed home, but not without being reminded of how much you boys really love each other.  It makes a momma very happy!

The Truth Hurts

The truth hurts.  I’d imagine as a 7 year old sometimes it’s hard to tell the truth and sometimes it’s hard NOT to tell the brutal, honest truth.  I’m guessing last night Connor wished to be back in this giant turtle shell following our conversation.  It went a little something like this:

Me: Connor, did you know a Mrs. James at your school last year.

Connor: Yeah.

Rhiannon: What did she look like?

Connor: She was taller than mom.

Pause

Connor: She was skinnier than mom.

Pause….followed by Rhiannon reprimanding him

Connor: But she was  (Then, desperately trying to save himself) But you’re still skinny, Mom.

Ouch. But I’m guessing, it was probably the truth. :)

A New Year

It seems strange to me that January is officially “The New Year”, because mid-August actually feels more like A New Year.  Thursday marked the day that summer ended and a new school year began.  For most of the summer you guys would not even let me talk about school.  You didn’t want to know when it was going to start.  You didn’t want to know how many days of freedom you had left.  We even waited until just a few days ago to buy your school supplies. 

Once the supplies were in hand and we were headed to Open House, I think everyone finally accepted that school was coming whether we liked it or not.  And I think, finally, there was a tinge of excitement in the air.

Thursday morning Dad took Colin and Connor to school…at 7:00, mind you…THAT’S SOOOO early!

Connor started the second grade this year.  His teacher is Mrs. Welch.  He’s so excited and absolutely LOVES her!  This is the first year that you get to have class upstairs.  You are so big and I’m so proud of you!

Colin is in the fourth grade.  His teacher is Mr. Brew.  Colin is so excited to have such a “cool” and “fun” teacher.  He also gets to be the oldest in the school AND switch classes for different subjects.  You’re growing so fast Colin.

After sending the boys off to school, the girls and I took our time, as we so often do, and finished the preparations for their first day.

Kess is starting the eighth grade at Lincoln Jr. High.  I’m not sure she’s actually excited about going back, but I know how much she loves her friends at school.  She gets to take really cool classes this year too, like Career Orientation (where she hopes to job shadow a zookeeper), and she’s also taking Pre-AP classes for the first time. 

Rhiannon is also starting the eighth grade and not quite excited about school either.  However, she too has great classes this year.  This semester she’s taking Intro to Communication Arts.  I think she’s going to like it a lot.  She is also taking her first Pre-AP classes.

  It’s seems like yesterday that we made the decision to start public school.  The first day of Fifth grade must’ve been so scary.  But you were so brave and you have done SO well.  You’ve worked so hard and developed and grown into beautiful young women.  I’m so proud of you guys!

I thought about you guys all day, and couldn’t wait to pick you up in the afternoon.  Everyone had such a great day.  Connor was so excited about the treasure box and the scoops of popcorn his class could earn.  Colin was excited that he didn’t have any homework and got to do activities all day long.  Rhiannon was excited that she has lunch with most of her friends, but sad that Kess has a different lunch period.  Kess was brimming with excitement that her favorite teacher, Mrs. Lovegood,  is her Seminar teacher.

After dinner we dined on a special treat that I made for you while you were at school.

Hehehe!  Though I won’t be on Ace of Cakes anytime soon, this cake was full of love and laughter.  I had a great time making it and knew you guys would think it was pretty funny.  And as an added bonus, it actually tasted pretty good too!

So with a new year beginning I’m so excited to see what each of you will accomplish this year.  I’m excited to be there by your side each step of the way.  I’m looking forward to setting and accomplishing goals of my own too.  I love each of you and I love being your mom.

Family Vacation 2009 – San Antonio

After meeting my grandparents for breakfast the next morning, we headed to San Antonio.  We wanted to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  When I was ten we lived in San Antonio for a whopping 5 months.  I remember going to the Alamo and the Riverwalk, but it was a lot more fun as an adult.

The grounds were beautiful!  I never realized how desert-like San Antonio and Austin are.  The trees are short and low to the ground.  And of course it couldn’t be a desert without a few cacti! It was a beautiful sunny day!  We cooled off in the shade with a shaved ice.Once we were sufficiently cool we took a stroll along the Riverwalk.  It was so fun!  I did have a few minor panic attacks, however, when we would walk along a narrow pathway…Connor got so tired of me clinging to him.  But anyone who knows Connor knows he doesn’t walk, he bounces, uncontrollably.  I was afraid he was going to bounce right into the river.We took a boat ride down the river.  I took tons of pictures of the buildings, but now, I have no idea what was significant about them.  The ride was fun, but eventually it got a little “long”.  We were hot and tired…  So you can imagine how happy we were to find Ice Cream!  It was the best chocolate peanut butter ice cream I’ve ever had! Before hiking back to our car we stopped inside a hotel so that the girls could take a potty break.  The boys entertained themselves by pretending they were on skateboards. We fell into bed exhausted and sooo excited for the next day!

Family Vacation 2009

My grandparents live in Austin.   The last time we saw them, Colin was a baby.  So, as part of our summer plans we made a trip to Austin to see them.

Notice the white cloth on my grandpa’s arm?  He’s a funny little man.  Connor asked, “Why come you broke your arm?”  Grandpa then explained that he keeps the cloth on his arm so his new puppy won’t scratch him.  I loved visiting with them again.  I have so many memories of visiting them in rural Arkansas when I was growing up.  My fondest memories are of Grandma’s homemade breakfast with farm fresh eggs, that I “picked” myself, and homemade jam and biscuits.  I watched my first duck hatch at their house and traveled home with 23 baby ducklings in a cardboard box.  (That was a noisy ride home) I walked on a frozen pond at their house, and went fishing, shot BB guns, walked in the woods, picked plums, and ALWAYS took a swing on the tire swing!  What amazing memories I have of them. 

My kids enjoyed visiting with them too, but of course they were inclined to spend most of their time snuggling Grandma’s new dog, Kayla.

  

I never realized how much I look like my Grandma until I saw this picture.  She is an amazing woman.  She is so full of grace, strength, and courage!  I love her and I’m so thankful for my family.

June 2009

June began with Connor ending his baseball season.  He really enjoyed baseball, even if it did include lots of

Waiting…

And waiting…

And waiting…

And then finding a way to occupy his time…during all that waiting.

In June Colin received special recognition at school.  His second grade class voted, and he was awarded the Citizenship Award.  We were so proud of him!

The girls celebrated the beginning of summer by having a water fight.

It all started when Rhiannon put a piece of ice down Kess’s shirt.

Yes, she really is looking for ice down there!

The fight escalated from ice to water balloons…

In June Rhiannon and Kess got to attend their first Girls Camp!  They had so much fun!!  They were a little nervous at first, but the older girls were so great to them and helped them feel comfortable.  Rhiannon even bore her testimony on the last night of camp!  The weather was horrible the whole week of camp.  The girls were evacuated twice because of tornado warnings and thunderstorms.  Of course the weather only made their first year at camp more memorable.

The week after girls camp Colin attended his first Cub Scout Day Camp.  It was so much fun!  I attended it with him several afternoons.  It was sooooo hot, but it was a lot of fun!

Colin had two favorite activities.  One was shooting (BBs of course)

His other favorite was archery. 

The week was filled with many activities and opportunities to earn belt loops.

The water relay race was a lot of fun, too.

On the last day a fire truck came and sprayed all of the kids.  They were drenched, dirty, and worn out!

Whew…the next week we left for our family vacation.  What a busy first month of summer!