First day = success

We have officially started the school year and I am officially a mom of three full-time students.  Oh my goodness!!!  It's great to be at this stage, and yet, there is a little bit of sadness and realization that my little ones aren't so little anymore. 

Kaelynn's first day of kindergarten was today.

She was the first one up at 6:30am this morning which tells you how excited she was.  It was not abnormal for her to sleep until 9:00am this summer. 

I thought about her a lot today.  When Connor and Carson went to kindergarten I wasn't working full-time and was able to go meet them at school and get them to their classrooms.  I wasn't able to do that today and it was hard!!!  But, she did smashingly well.  When I asked her if she wanted Andy to meet her at school, she said, "No, I can do it myself."  She's my confident, independent girl.  Andy is going to bring the kids to school in the morning and then Kaelynn will take the bus from Eastwood Elementary to the kindergarten center.  They will all take the bus home. 

Details- When asked what her favorite part of the day was, she said, "music".  And my heart went "Yes!!!!"  She made a friend on the bus, Sally.  She said she only got to play at recess for 3 minutes (I'm thinking it was probably longer than that).  She had a granola bar for snack and the class has to have a 15 minute rest time with their heads on their desk after recess (which she doesn't like).  She learned a song about a ball in music and she says that all of the girls in her class are her friends.  She thinks her teacher Mrs. Cody is the nicest teacher ever, and she brought home a picture of a bear driving a school bus.  Overall, the day was a success and she is ready to go back tomorrow! 

Here she is getting off the bus, all smiles!!!!!!!! 

This was not the first day of school for Connor, Carson, or me.  We started last Thursday, but I wanted to wait to put these all in one post, so I'll go backwards a little.  It is really hard to believe that the boys are in 2nd grade already. Carson has Mrs. Smith and Connor has Mrs. Kingsley.  Again this year I think they have the right teachers for their personalities.    

 On a side note- both of the boys have been growing like weeds.  We are sending Connor to 2nd grade in a size 7 tennis shoe.  That's adult size 7.    I put his shoe up to my tennis shoe- it's bigger.  Not by much, but it is bigger.  He is pushing 90 pounds and stands right at my chin.  It will not be long before he overtakes me. 

How is my school going?  Well things have been a little crazy the first few days.  A lot of change has happened at Westside for this school year and the special ed staff was not prepared for how much change it would actually be.  My schedule has changed 5 times in three days and I fully excpect it to change again.  The name of the game at this point is to "go with the flow".  I really feel like I am at that school for a reason and am excited to work with the students that I am with.  There have been challenges already, and no doubt there will be more!  But I am so grateful to God for providing this job for our family.  It really couldn't be any more perfect!!!   

It's right around the corner...

Yep, fall is almost here.  We have three days of summer vacation left and then it's back to the grind.  It's really hard to believe that all three kids will be in school full-time and I will be working.  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work the same hours that they are in school.  God has been so good in me being able to be a para this year.  I'm really excited about it!  

Kaelynn is very excited to start kindergarten.  She doesn't start until Monday, but is more than ready!  

The boys started football last week and they both love it!  They have great coaches who work them hard, but are very encouraging as well.  They switch positions every play so they get a taste of each position.  They will start playing games against other teams next week.  Andy is especially proud watching his boys participate in a sport that he loved so much.  Carson is particularlly passionate about the sport and puts everything he has into every play.  He loves diving to catch the ball, so he will need to learn to stand on his feet when catching the ball so he can run.  Andy thinks Carson will be a wide receiver and Connor will be a tackle.  I think we have a future of sitting on the sidelines for many years to come :)        

 We have loved spending time with cousins this summer.  My sister Karrie lives in West Fargo and we have done a babysitting exchange just about every week.  The kids love to play together and it has given us moms a little break in the week which is great for the heart and soul.  Kaelynn and Emma have these matching dresses from my mom and just so happened to wear them last week.  Their both heading to kindergarten next week and love talking about what it will be like in school.  It's been fun to see this friendship blossom and grow! 

I'm pretty sure my next post will be about the first day of school :)  Here we go...................

Amazing!!!

This afternoon we went to the Fargo Air Show and saw some pretty amazing skills displayed.  We didn't actually go into the airport, but sat on the campus of NDSU and had an amazing view.  The highlight of the show was the Blue Angels.  It is unbelievable to see the precision with which they fly.  When they fly by, it takes your breath away (and your hearing :).  We had plenty of opportunity to get excited for the afternoon as they have been practicing for the past two days.  It really is awesome to hear the roar of the jets and see the speed with which they go.  I don't have a real great camera for these sorts of things, but I think I got some okay shots.     

My mom used to love to go to air shows, so I thought about her a lot during the afternoon.  

Most of the kids thought it was cool.  Of course our "glass half-empty" child had plenty to whine about, but we didn't let it ruin our time.  This was Connor's pose for most of it :(  

 The other two had plenty of smiles and we heard lots of "That's so cool!" 

We got some okay video to give you a little glimpse of what it was like.  Kaelynn kept telling me her heart was shaking.  I whole heartedly agreed with her. 

We got to see three stunt acts.  This stunt plane was amazing in how it would stop and then nose dive. 

I tried to take lots of little videos of the Blue Angels as they flew by.  This is probably the best one.  If you get dizzy easily, I'd skip it :) 

Connor and Carson's first sleepover

To celebrate Connor and Carson's 8th birthday this year we decided it might be time to try a sleepover.  They have never had one before so as soon as we pitched the idea to them, The excitement started to build.  They each got to invite two friends for a total of 6 boys.  Kaelynn was going to have Emma sleep over too, but plans changed and she ended up sleeping at Emma's place instead.  That worked out quite well!!!! 
This was one of the best ideas for a birthday party- all of the noise and mess were outside.  I highly recommend it for a boys birthday party!  Loved it!!!!!!   

Sam, Micah, Ryan, Oliver, Carson, and Connor

The evening went very well!  The boys arrived at 6:00pm with much anticipation.  It was the first sleepover for three of the boys who came.  Here they are getting set up in the tent:

I love our backyard!!!!  There was plenty of room to have the tent, fire, and chairs, food/eating area, and room to play football, ladder golf, and tag.   

We roasted hot dogs for dinner....

and then opened presents....


Carson and Ryan with a Nerf gun!

 

Sam and Connor with Doodle books (I loved these and they are perfect for Connor's love for drawing and creativity.)

 

Carson and Oliver with a new basketball for our new basketball hoop from Grandpa and Grandma.



Micah and Connor- He came through with some new Lego sets!!!



Carson and Micah- Gotta love those Legos!  Especially police sets!

Connor and Ryan- Bring on the Nerf wars!

After presents they had a water balloon toss and water balloon fight.

We made s'mores and they played football and tag in the dark until 10:00 when it was quiet time. 

Sleep was a bit of an issue.  Most of them didn't fall asleep until 11:00pm or so.  Some were awake until 12:00am.  Sleeping in a neighborhood is not quite as peaceful as sleeping in the woods of northern MN.  At 1:00am Andy received a phone call from one of the boys' dad (who is a Fargo police officer and was on duty) stating that severe thunderstorms were headed for Fargo.  Andy watched the radar on his phone for a while and decided at 2:15am to bring everyone in.  It didn't take too long to get them settled in and they were able to sleep until about 7:30am. 

Breakfast was served at 8:00am- chocolate chip and sprinkles pancakes and bacon.

Parents picked up some tired but happy little boys at 9:00am.  It was a very positive, fun experience.  One that I'm sure we will do again!      

Camping with friends

We went camping with 5 other families Sunday-Tuesday at Maplewood State Park in MN.  There were 24 of us all together.  The families make up Andy's staff team and we love hanging out with them.  We named each camp: Kvernenville, Shay Lucht, The Hood, Rogers Neighborhood, Williams Retreat, and the Honeymoon Suite.  There were 12 kids and they are very close in ages.  They had a great time together!

This hammock provided hours of happy swinging.  You could choose to be pushed in regular speed, super speed, or warp speed.  Most of them chose warp speed and the adults were amazed there were no injuries from it :)

Our campsite was right by the lake and there was plenty of fishing going on.  They caught a few crappies, sunnies, and a couple of bullheads.  It was pretty wooded and there were quite a few rods in a small area, so we did hear a lot of "I need help, my line is snagged."  

This is our second year camping as a group although we added a few members from last year.  The entertainment last year was a big game of softball.  This year fishing was the main source of entertainment, but we did get in another game of softball.  

Lauren and Emma are two months apart and provided many hours of entertainment for the moms.  They were hilarious together and sweet, sweet little girls.  Lauren (left) has a special liking for Andy.  She loves to say his name and be around him.  It was very cute!  

On Sunday evening we did a potluck.  We enjoyed beef brisket, chicken kabobs, fruit kabobs, roasted corn on the cob, pasta salad, cookie pops and cookie bars.  

We had a s'mores smorgesboard.  We brought lots of different toppings including, toffee bits, Andes mints, frostings, peanut butter cups, cookies or banana bread instead of graham crackers, almond joys, strawberry marshmallows or giant marshmallows.  I prefer the good old-fashioned kind of s'more, but it was fun to see the creativity. 

These girls love playing together.  Zoe is a sweet, sweet girl and she and Kaelynn loved running around and looking for pieces of nature to treasure.  

We had a great time and are looking forward to next year already.  We love these families and feel so blessed to have them in our lives.  Thanks for the memories! 

Minnesota fun!

We retreated to Minneapolis for a little mini-vacation with my family last Wednesday.  We drove from Fargo straight to the Mall of America.  Kaelynn and I really wanted to go to the American Girl store and Connor and Carson really wanted to go to the Lego store.  Both were accomplished as well as some lunch and a special treat.  

I was given the American girl Samantha when I was in high school and have now passed her on to Kaelynn.  She is very responsible with her and I love that we have both shared her.  She just had to bring her with.  We found out that she was retired in 2008.   



 At the Lego store there are statues made out of Legos of course.  Here are the kids with Woody from Toy Story.  This was one of the smaller statues.  On top of the store is a huge 50 ft. or more Transformer.  It was amazing!

 Here is one reaction in the American Girl store.........

And here is the other.........

On Thursday we went to Valleyfair.  As a kid I grew up going to Valleyfair every summer.  It has changed some since my growing up years, but it always brings back great memories.  Memories which I am grateful to be able to pass on to my children.  The kids love most of the rides.  We went on a perfect day when it was a little overcast and a little cool.  It was a little too cool for the waterpark so we weren't able to enjoy that, but it didn't stop our fun.  Here are the boys on Thuder Canyon.  If it would have been about 15-20 degress warmer, Kaelynn and I would have joined them.   

Getting our Cotton Candy fix.

There is a ride there called the Mad Mouse.  It is a mini version of a roller coaster, but in some ways, just as thrilling.  There are several turns right away where you feel that you are going to go right off the track.
The kids loved this ride!!!!  We lost track of how many times the boys went on it and Kaelynn went at least 6-8 times.  She was amazing!

I used to love roller coasters, but after I had kids something changed inside me and I'm not so much about rides that involve risk.  I went on it with her to show my bravery and she took me through the whole ride.  I did not care for the sharp turns at the top of the ride, and I told her that I was going to close my eyes until we got through that part.  She just giggled and said, "It's okay mommy, we're almost through it.  Just a couple more turns.  Only one more now, you can do it."  She was so cute.  It wasn't her screams you heard throughout the ride, it was mine.  I took a video of Kaelynn, Andy, Connor, and Carson going on the ride, but it is not uploading very well, so I will have to have Andy downsize it and get it on later.     

 

We got to spend lots of time with Katie and Declan.  He is now 9 months old and is the sweetest little boy.  He is very laid back- he hardly fussed.  He is also very relational.  He loves to sit and look at people and touch your face.  He was really fun to be around.  He even brought me some birthday balloons and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. 

On Saturday we went to the Bunker Hills waterpark.  It is a huge waterpark with lots of waterslides, a kids play area, lazy river, huge wave pool, water basketball and rock climbing, and a sand area.  We spent several hours there and had a wonderful time!   

Saturday evening we celebrated most of the July birthdays in our family.  We were missing my nephew Brendan whose birthday is July 12th.  Katie made a delicious cake for us and even got all of our names on it.  Thank you Katie!!!!

The boys received Twins jerseys from grandma and grandpa and Katie and Rusty and Declan.  They have been wearing them with pride.  Connor quickly picked up on the phrase "I'm a twin wearing a Twins jersey."  They look pretty handsome if you ask me.....

We had a great time in Minneapolis!  Thank you to grandma and grandpa for hosting us and loving on us!