First Day Of School 2014!

Prepare for picture OVERLOAD!!!

Owen Michael - 7 1/2 years old - 2nd Grade

Goof Ball!

Jackson Daniel - 6 years old - 1st Grade

Equally goofy goof ball!

We intentionally let the kids make a silly face and get it out of the way so then we can move onto nice faces.

Handsome boys!

Jack wearing his shirt with his graduating year on it. Look mom I'm SO big!

Wow 2026....I'll be 45 when he graduates!

Look how BIG I am mom!!!

2025...I'll be 44 when my first born graduates! Seems like forever, but I know it's just moments away!

These boys crack me up!

Best buds!

Got his coat on and his backpack and is ready to go. Did his coat make it home the first day....of course not! I have a feeling I'll be visiting the lost and found often!

Ready to rock 1st grade!

My miracles! How did I get so blessed! Love!!!

Crazy kids!

Zeke was ready to go too!

The neighbor kids followed us since they didn't know where they were going. We always drive to school for the first day.

Walking to Owen's class!

Waiting in line with his classmates....he already know two of the kids. Koby on the left used to live across the street from us and Mya was his classmate last year. In fact I asked Owen if he could pick one classmates from 1st grade to be in his 2nd grade class and he said Mya! 

And you know 2nd graders are too cool to stop for pictures with their teachers! This was as close as I got. That is Owen's teacher Mrs. Golden. All summer long I've wondered who he was going to have and he kept saying Mrs. Golden. They didn't assign the kids to classes until later in the summer and sure enough he was right. 

We had to walk around to the back of the school to wait in line for Jack's 1st grade class. Jack knows 3 of the kids that were in his kindergarten class. It's nice that they get to see familiar faces. 

This is Mr. Heintz...and this is his first year teaching. I was a little apprehensive when I found out that Jack had a guy for a teacher since it seemed like most guys teachers were for the older grades. He is so sweet though and he loves the kids. 

And now it's just these two cuties home with me during the day. It's been a bit of an adjustment since they are used to traipsing around with the big boys, but I'm sure we'll find our rhythm.

And just like last year I get a big smile on my face when I see the bus coming around the corner knowing that my boys are home. 

Jack is always getting into his backpack the moment he gets off the bus so he can show me something. 

Donald and Dominic weren't far behind the boys. It's fun having a couple more boys to walk home with at the end of the day. 

Here's to a great year! 

Back To School Bash!

The night before school started we went to Red Robin to celebrate with Ga-Ga & Pa. We did this last year and I think this will be a long standing tradition that the kids will come to look forward to! 

It's so much easier taking the kids to a restaurant now. They are so good and we never even had to say quiet down. Also the lady next to us said, "Your kids are so well behaved" as we were leaving. That always makes you feel good! 

This was his happy face about getting a lot of boxes during his dots and boxes game with Daddy! 

Back to focusing on the game! 

Zeke man ate great! He just kept chowing down on chicken, fries and apples. Finally he's starting to eat! 

Handsome 6 year old boy! Can't believe he's a first grader! 

Pa and my Owen boy

!

My love! So happy to be together. Man I missed this guy while I was gone! 

Cute middle kids! 

At the end of the school year Owen got a free milkshake coupon from school and I figured that we should use it before the new school year started. He ended up only drinking a tiny bit. Thank goodness it was free! 

Labor Day Weekend!

A few weeks ago at church I had this gut feeling that I needed to go back to Wyoming and see my Grandma that has been having some serious health issues. My friend Kim had offered me one of their passes to fly on Alaska so I thought I would ask my mom if she wanted to go with me. After praying about it Mom knew it was something that she needed to do with me, but she wasn't going to let me fly standby. 

We left on Friday morning....my Dad dropped us off at the airport where we had to say goodbye to the kids. Owen was holding onto me and saying he wasn't going to let me go. Ella started crying and saying she wanted to come with me. Jack was pretty oblivious to what was going on and Zeke was waving and saying Bye!!! Our plane left at 12:35 and we got to the airport over 2 hours beforehand. We had lots of time to roam around. We found the Seahawks Lounge and had to have our picture taken. Since it was Friday we of course wore our Seahawk shirts. 

We had to fly into Billings Mt and then drive into Wyoming. Those states can be pretty hardcore Broncos fans so I wasn't sure if we were going to get some nasty stares or not! 

Getting ready to board! 

When we got to Billings we got our rental car and then I drove us to Sheridan Wyoming and we stayed the night with my Uncle Lee and Aunt Linda. We had lots of fun seeing them....so much so I completely forgot to take pictures! Ugh! 

On Saturday we drove from Sheridan Wyoming to Gillette Wyoming. This is where I was born and my grandparents live here. We went out to see my cousin Marshall's house that he just built and then headed over to my grandparents apartment. We spent the rest of the day visiting with them. Around 7pm we checked into our hotel. 

On Sunday we went back to my grandparents and we got to see my Mom's youngest sister...my Aunt Terri and her daughter Nikki and her grand-daughter Aislyn. It was so nice to see them all! We spent the rest of the day just chatting and visiting with grandma and grandpa and then it was time to say goodbye. Of course I completely forgot to take pictures of my grandparents as well. 

The next morning we got up and ate breakfast and then headed out. We did make a little detour to my childhood home. 

I lived in that house from the day I was born in 1980 until May 1986. It look SO completely different I wouldn't have even knew it was my house. Even with my mom saying it was I was sure she was wrong. What you don't see in the picture is the 100 or so cars that are parked all around the property...junk cars! It's awful! 

Then we started drive back to Billings. The whole trip either in the plane, the car or talking with family I was busy crocheting trying to get Jack's afghan finished for him. When I started it really was only about a 2 feet long and by the time we made it home I was only 3 strands away from finishing it. It got so big my mom ended up buying me a new backpack at ShopKo to fit it in since the carry-on bag I brought was now too small. We also met my friend Angie in Billings at ShopKo. She moved there back in January so it was fun to see her. We went out to lunch at The Cracker Barrel with her and then we ran into my cousin Marshall who we saw in Gillette on Friday. It's a small world out there folks! 

By this time I was ready to be home and see my babies. Of course the flight felt like it took forever and I was sure we were going to die! I love flying, but it still freaks me out sometimes. Michael had kept the kids up so they could get their surprises that we got them. 

Zeke got this Lightning McQueen coat and sweatpant set and an Octopus water bottle. 

Jack got these Spiderman pants, shirt and vest and a fish water bottle. I didn't get pictures of Owen because he tried his stuff on so fast and then took it off. He got camo pants, camo shoes and a fish water bottle. Not sure why I didn't get a picture of Ella, but she got a My Little Pony bracelet, a dress, another outfit and a mermaid water bottle. 

I had so much fun spending 3 whole days with my mom and seeing so many family members. Thank you Mom!!! 

Revolving Door!

This kid and I have been to the ER so many times it feels like a normal thing! Last Thursday while watching the Seahawks game all the kids including the neighbor kids were out playing in the backyard and having a great time. Then I heard a screaming cry and went running. Evidently Zeke was trying to be a big boy and climb up the slide like the other kids and he was wearing socks. Yeah that didn't go so well. He had bit his tongue and it was bleeding, but otherwise he seemed fine. He was doing baby swear words so I should have known something else was wrong. 

Anyways I brought him inside and checked him out and then tried to console him. I ended up sitting him on Daddy's lap so he could lounge with him. He seemed content to just lay there. I did notice that he was looking at me longingly, but he didn't try to come to me. He also was holding his sippy with one hand, but it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. 

Then at 8:15 when we decided it was time to get the kids ready for bed we move him. That's when he started crying and I noticed he wasn't moving his left arm. Not again! I had him stand up and we tried to see if he would reach for something with that arm, but he wouldn't. Then I tried to see if it was nursemaids elbow again, but that just made him scream. So....off to the ER we went! 

The ER was a busy place! I think it was because some schools had started and the kids just weren't conditioned yet so there were lots of sports related injuries. 

While waiting Zeke wanted to wander over to see the fishies! 

Thankfully it wasn't too long and we were called back. Once they heard about his accident they ordered x-rays. When we were finished in triage they took us right to the x-ray room and then when that was done we were taken into the exam room. 

While at triage they gave Zeke some Motrin. By this point it had been around 30 minutes later and he was feeling pretty good. 

The nurse gave him some cars and blocks to play with and it was no time and he was zooming around the cars with both arms. He still wouldn't lift his arm higher than his shoulder though. When the Dr. came in he said that the x-rays looked just fine and then he examined his shoulder and elbow to make sure they were all good. In the end it was just a bad sprain and he just needed some children's Motrin or Tylenol. Thank goodness he didn't break anything! The nice thing is that even though we've been to the ER quite a lot they never make me feel like I'm a bad parent. Kids will be kids and we can't protect them from everything. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Mary Bridge Children's Hospital!