Wedding Picture

For anyone (Mom) anxious to see a picture of the boys all dressed up for the wedding, here you go! I'll post more later...

Apple Orchard Field Trip

Today was Henry's first preschool field trip -- they went to the apple orchard. He had been telling me for about a week that I didn't need to come on the field trip. He said he would go by himself this first time and "just see how it goes" and maybe I could come next time.

The morning started out with the most exciting part -- riding the church bus! Then they gathered for a class picture.


Next up was petting kittens and feeding goats.


Then we went on a hay ride.


Next he fed chickens.


And then it was time to pick apples. He looks mad in this picture but he was really just making silly faces.


We had a great morning and thankfully the rain had passed by the time we got there. His only sad part of the morning was finding out that he was riding home with me instead of on the bus. When he found that out he told me, "I'm never talking to you again." That lasted about 1 second. Now he's upstairs for rest time making a farm and apple orchard out of blocks and Little People.

Happy Half-Birthday to Jack

Today our first baby is 6 1/2. He’s been excited about his half birthday ever since Henry’s half birthday back in June. This morning he told me he didn’t feel any bigger, but tonight he thought he might have grown a little because he could reach the soap a bit better in the shower. Here are some of his current favorites:

food – pasta with spicy marinara (He’s very proud of his ability to handle spicy foods. He even tried ghost pepper salsa at our favorite Mexican restaurant.)

song – Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen

book – Magic Treehouse books

sport – soccer (He scored a goal in his first game of the season yesterday!)

thing to do – reading

color – gold

animal – bunny

places – Estes Park, Colorado and Cocoa Key (indoor waterpark we went to for his 3rd and 4th birthdays)

He climbed his first tree yesterday, which he is super excited about. For as many trees as we have in our yard (15!) there isn’t a great climbing tree with low branches. But he’s finally strong enough to pull himself up into the one in between our house and Taylor’s.

A typical day in the life of Jack goes something like this:

7:20 – I have to wake him up for school. Every morning he is pretty unhappy about getting up, but by the time he gets dressed and come downstairs to eat he’s in a good mood.

8:00 – Leave for school and school starts at 8:25. He really likes EPiC and is doing all sorts of cool stuff at school.

3:00 – We pick him up and get home about 3:10. Maybe twice a week we’ll go somewhere after school like the library. Or last week we brought Jack’s bike in the car and then we went to a trail after school. He rode his bike and Henry and I walked… and then they found a creek to play in, which they loved.

3:30 – After we get home and they have a snack, Jack goes up to his room for a little rest. He complains everyday about it, but ends up enjoying having some time to relax and he usually reads. I typically have to go and get him and tell him his rest is over and he can come downstairs. Then the boys play until supper at 6. He doesn’t really have homework in 1st grade. They do have a spelling test each Friday but so far the words have been easy and we’ve just had to practice maybe once during the week. They also send books home a couple of times a week and he reads them and I sign his reading log.

6 – Supper and we start bedtime about 7:15. Bedtime is 8 and he can read until 8:15. He also has soccer practice on Mondays and he is just starting Tiger Scouts too.

He really is such a great little boy. He is a great big brother and he’s just a happy little guy. I love that he tells me his favorite time of the day is “chatting” with me at bedtime. Yes, he’s growing up… but he’s still our little boy.

Nose in a Book

Jack has been reading on his own for quite a little while now. It seems like around Christmas time last year he really started to get it. However, before yesterday he had never carried around a book and read it nonstop before. We went to the library after school on Friday and he got a Magic Treehouse book about ninjas. He picked it up on Saturday and read the whole thing! So we went back to the library and got 5 more and then he read another one last night. Then today we had a two-hour meeting at church and he read another one during that time. When we got home he started another and finished it before bed. Lucky for us, there are 40 something Magic Treehouse books. I think we’ll be checking them all out soon!

With Jack getting out of school over an hour earlier this year, we’ve had lots more time in the afternoon to play and do fun stuff. We went to the pool twice last week, the library, got sno cones. One day the boys made garages for their hot wheels out of old boxes. And they had lots of time for wrestling and having fun. So far, Jack is loving EPiC and I think we are all loving the extra time at the end of the day.

First Day of Preschool

Our baby started preschool today. When I picked him up, the first thing he said was, "Mommy I had fun." His teacher is Ms. Marti and he goes Monday and Wednesday mornings. He wasn't scared at all to go and said he already made new friends.

Yesterday at open house his teacher gave him a "Sweet Dreams" poem and some magic confetti to sprinkle under his pillow so he could sleep well the night before school.


He requested a sugar cookie cake with yellow frosting for his special back-to-school treat.


This morning he didn't want to take his school pictures where Jack always takes them. He decided they would be prettier if he stood at the end of the garden. Now he's upstairs in his room for rest time building a school and playground out of blocks for his animals. I'm sure he's going to have a great year at preschool and have no trouble at all adjusting to going to school. It's just me I'm worried about! I don't know what to do with no little boys around to keep me company.

First Day of 1st Grade

School started today! We got ready last night with a chocolate cake of course. And Jack was up this morning bright and early and ready to go for his new, earlier start time. He was most excited about getting his iPad and a bit nervous he wouldn't remember where his classroom was. Only one more hour until pick up time... can't wait to hear about his first day at his new school!

Chef Jack

Jack made lunch for us after church today. He picked the menu: meatball sandwiches, red peppers, salad and blueberries. He learned how to turn on the stove and cooked the meatballs in the sauce. He also learned how to cut the hoagie buns in half. He was very proud of himself. Next up - cupcakes, without my help.

Estes Park 2014

We had a great trip to Estes Park a couple of weeks ago. We met our good friends the Turveys there and spent five days hiking and playing in the mountains. The boys were both great hikers – we added it up and they hiked about 12 miles total. Jack especially seemed to understand the beauty of the mountains this trip. He made several comments about how beautiful Colorado and the mountains are. They both asked if we could live there.

Our cabin was right next to the Turveys and all the boys (4 total) and Josie (the only girl) enjoyed being able to run back and forth and see each other. We had s’mores on the deck one night and cookies another. One day we grilled hamburgers and had a picnic down by the river. It was close enough that we could see it from our front door.

The whole trip was just great. We were out the door by 7:30 each morning on our way to the park to hike. We’d hike all morning and then come back to the cabin for lunch and naptime. Henry slept most days and Jack even took a nap the first day. Hiking for the boys, especially Jack, Ben and Sam, involved lots and lots of climbing rocks and then jumping off of them. Henry got to do some of that, but he wasn’t quite big enough to run around as much as the bigger boys. 

After rest time, we played putt-putt golf one day. One day we rode a gondola to the top of the mountain. At the top you got out and could buy peanuts and feed them to the chipmunks. They would come right up and take them out of your fingers. Both boys said that was their favorite part of the trip. On our way home we stayed in Denver one night and flew out the next day. We went to the Natural History Museum and ate at the best hot dog place. Nathan went on a fly fishing trip on Saturday after the Turveys had gone home. That day the boys and I went to Lily Lake and hiked around it. Then we ate at a really old inn for lunch. It was a soup and salad buffet and they both discovered a great love for buffets. Jack was amazed he could keep going back up and getting food. He also really liked getting more food for Henry and I.

It couldn’t have been a better trip. It was so fun to be with good friends and have a blast enjoying the mountains. I see many more trips to Estes Park in our future.

Swimming Fun

It’s pouring here right now, but this afternoon the boys had a blast playing in our pool in the driveway with the neighbors.

Henry’s 1/2 Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Henry’s 1/2 birthday. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, we thought we’d try something new this year to give him another special day. It was quite a success, so I think we’ve started a new family tradition!

We made him half of a birthday cake and he got a little present. He also got to celebrate with Grandma Pam and Grandpa Glen, who were here to watch Jack’s t-ball game as well. Henry is such a delightful little guy. The cutest thing he says right now is “Bless you” every time he sneezes. It’s so cute I’m not going to tell him he’s supposed to tell other people that, not himself. Other favorites for Henry right now are:

- jumping into the pool to Daddy and getting out at the wall by himself

- legos, legos and legos. During his afternoon rest time, he’ll build legos for an hour or so.

- reading the “If you Give a…” book series

- sitting in his barstool

- playing 20 Questions. You have to watch him because he often make up fake animals for you to guess (like a horned lizard with a hat on his head).

- playing “Try to make me laugh” with Jack during supper