Total Solar Eclipse

Today was the big day -- the total solar eclipse! The weather was not looking good. It was cloudy all morning and then starting raining and raining... But the rain went away and the clouds cleared just in time. We had a great view of the eclipse and it was so neat. And then just a few minutes after totality the clouds rolled back across the sky. We really lucked out with having a good view. It was such a fun day and it was so great to have Uncle Will, Grandma Pam, Grandpa Glen, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sue here with us!

First Day of School - 1st and 4th Grade

School started for the boys today. They weren't exactly overjoyed to be starting school -- sleeping in every morning until 9 or 9:30 and staying in pajamas until lunch sounds better to them than getting up at 7. Jack referred to the start of school a few times as "the torture beginning." Despite their (half-hearted) complaining, they were perfectly happy to go this morning, see all of their friends and start a new year.

Things to remember about Henry from this particular first day of school:
- He is currently obsessed with Pokémon.
- He just lost his first front tooth and looks adorable with his remaining front tooth sticking out because it's so loose.
- He still holds my hand wherever we go.
- He really wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up.
- He turned into a fish in the pool this summer. He told me many times that it's "a whole new world" under the water
- He tied his shoelace to the drawstring of his shorts on the carpet at school today and had to have his teacher untie the knot so he could stand up.

And Jack:
- He totally made fun of our night before school book, "The Kissing Hand," last night. We have been reading it since the night before his first day of preschool when he was three. I told him I'll be reading it to him until he graduates from high school.
- He loves bugging Henry. He loves it a lot.
- He re-discovered his love for Minecraft last week.
- He finally decided he loves the Jayhawks.
- If he's quiet and I don't know what he's doing, he's reading.
- He got back from New Life a week or so ago and still bursts into camp songs/cheers throughout the day. He really, really loves camp.

We had such a fun summer together. They are just fun and even when they are fighting, I love having them home. Here are more pictures from before school this morning. No starting school jitters for these two -- they were messing around and being silly.

Scout Stuff

Last week Jack and Nathan went to Webelos Camp at Camp Naish. They had a good time, but it was really hot! Favorite activities were swimming, first aid class and wildlife class. Jack also got to shoot bb guns and try archery.

And here are pictures from his crossover in May. Done with Bears and moving onto Webelos.

Last Day of School

Here are last day of school pictures (a little late!). They each had a great year and, and are excited and ready to move onto 1st and 4th grade.

First up, the kindergarten graduate:

And the 3rd grade graduate!

2 More Pictures

I forgot about these pictures from Sunday. Sweet boys waiting to eat lunch.

Mother's Day Weekend

We had the best weekend. The weather was perfect and we did all kinds of fun stuff, and got through some not-so-fun stuff (like Henry getting strep throat on Friday). His antibiotics kicked in quickly and he was feeling back to normal Saturday.

Grandma Pam, Grandpa Glen and Uncle Will came over Saturday and we went to Jack's football game and then to Corner Café for breakfast. Then we were off to Henry's baseball game. This is a picture from the weekend before -- when Henry got the game ball!

After baseball we went to Lexi's graduation party. Lexi is our neighbor who has been babysitting the boys since she was in 7th grade. She is so sweet and the boys love her. They are going to miss her next year when she's away at college.

Saturday night we had a campfire with s'mores and enjoyed the new lights Nathan put up for me in the backyard for Mother's Day.

The boys ran around and shot their bow and arrows that have light-up arrows. They were thrilled to be up and outside, and running around, in the dark.

After church the next day (and Mother's Day breakfast in bed prepared by Nathan because the boys were still asleep), we went to the Plaza for lunch, walked around a bit and enjoyed the fountains. Monday was back to the real world -- Jack woke up with strep.  And yesterday he had to get his first cavity filled. It's been a rough week for him. Only 2 1/2 more days of school before their week-long break before summer session starts.

Easter 2017

According to Henry, Easter this year was "the best day ever." We started the day with Easter baskets and an egg hunt before going to church. Then we headed to Aunt Sherry's for lunch and the big egg hunt with cousins.

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter Egg Hunt at church was last Saturday. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. The boys' good friends Cameron and Cole came with us, along with their parents. First we enjoyed yummy cinnamon rolls and met the Easter Bunny. Cameron and Henry have been good buddies since their first year of preschool -- they were only 3 years old when they met.

Then we headed up the hill to the egg hunt. There were tons of eggs to find!

Henry was pretty excited about all of his candy!

Basketball Days

Henry's last basketball game was yesterday. He really enjoyed his first season of basketball. He has put in lots of hours of dribbling and shooting baskets in the driveway. Here are the cutest Little Dragons around.. Henry and Porter!

Birthday Fun Has Begun

Jack's 9th birthday is tomorrow! We started celebrating last weekend with a visit from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bill.

This weekend was his party with friends. Quinn, Will and Preston came over for a dinner of waffles and pancakes and then we headed to the Mavericks hockey game. The boys had a blast. They laughed so much... they had nerf guns battles, told spooky stories on the way to the game and gave each other bunny ears pretty much the entire time. After we dropped the last party goer off (at 11:00!), Jack told me that the party was even more fun than he thought it was going to be. It was a perfect way to celebrate turning nine. He even got his name and a birthday shout-out on the scoreboard at the hockey game! The fun continues tomorrow with the real, big day.