Here the kiddos are on the first day of school. It was actually pretty
awful (for me), and I decided that they can never go away to college.
:) Full day first grade seems like a long time to be away. I've been
so eager to get Scott at 3:15. Natalie is doing half day, which is
easier on this momma!:)
As for the kids, they are doing fine and adjusting pretty well to the new schedule with minor grumpiness and complaints.
These two children are so opposite. We're going to have different battles. "Natalie, have a good day at school. Don't talk to your friends!" ....."Scott, have a good day at school. Talk to your friends!"
Kate
is a bit lost without her big brother and sister. She whined a lot on
the first day, and even asked me to pull up a picture on my phone so
that she could "see Scott and Natalie!"
While the big kids were at school, I decided to work on potty
training Kate. Besides making me laugh, we haven't gotten too far.
On the first day, she sat on the toilet for all of 10 seconds and then said, "Nothing came out. We can try again tomorrow."
We
tried again later in the day and I decided to give her some privacy. I
left the bathroom for a few moments and walked back in. She stood up and said, "I
don't have exciting news."
Perhaps I should buy another box of Pampers, after all.
Jon and I recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. The kids were sweet and made an early morning show for Jon & I as part of the celebration. They tried to play/sing our favorite songs, as well.
I overheard them making cards for us about a week prior, and they were arguing if they should write "MOM" or "MOMMY" on the card. I heard Scott tell Natalie that they should write "Mommy" since I would be impressed with that the most. He said, "She doesn't even know that I know how to spell that word." Then, on the morning of our anniversary, I got their sweet card. It was addressed to "Momey"...:)
Scott learned to ride without training wheels this summer now that we have a nice long gravel driveway (go figure!), and he can't get enough. He rides almost everyday. Here he is taking a quick spin before church. No wonder we walk in late...Scott's taking bike rides and I'm taking pictures!
Sweet corn from the "sweet corn man"...wahoo!
Grammy and Great Grandma took the kids to a nice splash park. It was fun to hear Kate squeal with excitement.
Love those big Amazon boxes! They are worth at least an hour of easy entertainment. (And then of course, someone's feet kicked someone else's head, someone drew on someone else's creation, someone slobbered on someone else's stuffed friend...all good things must come to an end.)
Natalie: KATE! You're pushing my buttons! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? IT MEANS I'M ABOUT TO USE CONTROL OF YOU!
I told the kids to enjoy the blue cupcakes since it was a one time deal...what a mess!
Scott and Jon are completing project after project. Scott can't get enough of it. I think Jon is over it, but keeps finding more that needs to be done!
In years past, we've made it to Holiday World right around the kids early summer birthdays. This year, with the move, we waited until late July. The lines were much longer this time of year, and it was hotter. While we had a good day overall, we agreed that we would try to come earlier in the season next year.
This was Kate's first trip to Holiday World. On the drive there, four out of five people in our van would have voted that she had stayed home with Grandpa & Grandma as in years past. The screeching was not making her any friends. HOWEVER, once we arrived, the picture below made it all worth it. Goober-pants!
Before boarding the canoe, Jon told Natalie to make sure that Kate kept her hands inside to canoe (as the worker was instructing others to do). Natalie held Kate like she had been placed in handcuffs throughout the ride.
Scott's first year to drive the car. Those pedals are sure hard to push!
Natalie screams and hides when she sees a character in costume. Kate asks to dance.
Get ready for a blogging marathon...I'm determined to catch up!
The first post gets devoted to our beloved shed. An entire post about a shed? Why, yes...this shed is worthy of an entire post!
Jon designed it from scratch on paper over the winter months and was eager to get it built once we moved in.
Lots of little helpers early on...
but only Scott lasted past the first 30 minutes.
Scott was a faithful shed helper and wanted to observe every step.
Despite his good help, we had to call in the reinforcements. Our parents came to our rescue and put in some long hours/days.
Mini Barn? Shed? Outbuilding? Taco Bell? This 16x20 structure ended up being bigger than we expected.
This was my least favorite day of the shed building. (And I was indoors!:) It was probably their least favorite day of shed building, too. My two favorite men were on top of this crazy large shed fighting the wind. I did a lot of pacing as I peeked out the windows and a lot of praying. Thankfully, God protected everyone, and we didn't need an ambulance.
"JON! Come in! It's bedtime!" This man spent days going from sun up to sun down.
The good-spirited painters came in to finish up the job when Jon headed back to work. Thanks, Dad & Mom!!
Final touches on the ramp...
Ta-da! Piece of cake. (Or not.)
Our list of projects is almost done. Time to start having some summer fun. But wait, where did summer go?!?! The kids start school in less than two weeks, and so now we are scrambling to complete our summer bucket lists!
Someone is thrilled to start school and loves to look at her new school supplies over and over. Someone keeps asking why they can't have half day first grade? Someone is thinking that if sister and brother get new folders for school that she needs some too, of course. Can you guess who is who?
We are enjoying our home in the "country" with the exception of the
insects. They are pretty bad. The kids have spotted quite a few deer, unusual birds, and frogs. Instead of hearing the sound of the interstate, we hear the sound of frogs croaking loudly.
A few years ago, we visited a small church playground on July 4th. We went back the following year. The kids have dubbed it our "Fourth of July playground" and so we obliged them and went back again this year. We are probably outgrowing this small playground, but we'll aim to keep up with the few traditions that we do have.
Manly power-washing time
The employees and fellow customers in Rural King probably know
you're not the real deal when you start photographing your kids by the
bunnies and chicks.
...or when you squeal when the
bunny relieves himself on the floor and you warn your children 50 times to
make sure that they don't step in it
...or when you pull out your hand sanitizer as soon as you leave the area
...or
when you alert the employee that one chick is being pecked repeatedly
and that it's bleeding. (The lady acted like she was concerned about
the poor little chick and told me that she would take it to "time out"
for awhile. My dad told me later that "Time Out" was probably code word
for the dumpster. Gasp. I thought about that poor chick for a long
time. Jon might tell you that I talked about that poor chick too much on our drive home.)
Guess who found my camera and was taking 1 or 20 selfies?
Scott is showing his new smile. I love it, and am dreading the day when the new BIG tooth comes in! My baby is growing up...
Kate's frequently been asking to be put in her crib during the daytime. She doesn't usually have to ask me twice. Her only request is that she has "yots of friends" while she plays in there. She's been playing for quite awhile in her own little space and then will yell, "I'm ready to come out!" when she is through. She may have to ask me twice on this part...it's so nice to have her contained for a few!:)
I'll leave you with Kate's parting words tonight at bedtime...
Me: Goodnight, Katey-Baby!
Kate: Goodnight, Big Mommy!
