Dam good joke!

John wanted to run by the river today.  We dropped him off by a trail, by the river.  We stopped to see him off & cheer him on about a half mile away.....right by a man-made dam.  Well, Carter (since nature camp) thinks any dam is a beaver dam.

We see john run by & Carter shouts out the window:  Dad, dad, look; it's a dam beaver!!!!

I nearly lost it in laughter!!!  He said it backwards & oh my gosh....it was hilarious!

First Homework!!

Logan received his first homework assignment.  We were both excited! (Though I am well aware that kindergarten homework will pretty much all be way fun.... Not the same as he gets older....).  So for now we are enjoying it!!  Logan started right on it as he walked in the door & promptly said "I love homework!".  I will remind him of this in future years. :)

Sprinkler!

Last year Logan was just starting to run through sprinklers.....still not wanting to get his head wet.  This year is different...

Stunts & all!!!  Hooray!

River walk

John is doing a half marathon tomorrow, so we all went with him to packet pickup.  It was crazy humid, but still a lovely time. 

Ice Cream Social Night

We went to the ice cream social event at Logan's school tonight.  The older boys fell asleep a half hour earlier so they weren't in the best moods possible.  It was SO hot (90 degrees & soooo humid) & the event was outside.  Oy.  Ice cream

Then became drippy if not eaten fast enough.....which then made for sad kiddos.   On our way to find carter a bathroom, we bumped into his teacher & Logan's mood sure changed. :). He was happy & excited to see her.  She gave him a hug & was glad to see him as well ( which made me happy). I talked with her a bit & she is very nice.  I told her Logan did not go to preschool & she said she wouldn't have otherwise known ( which again makes me proud of him & our decision).  She said he is a very sweet kid. :).  She said she felt sweaty but still obliged for a pic.

Logan's first day of Kindergarten

A much anticipated day for the family....Logan's first day of kindergarten! We opted not to do preschool so while he did a camp & VBS, this is his first real exposure to school.  He was do excited!  I was both nervous & excited for him!

John's uncle passed away so he & Carter attended the funeral while Ryan & I saw Logan off for his first day.  Last week we made a list of things he needed to do before going to school: 1) go pee 2) make bed 3) get dressed 4) eat breakfast 5) brush teeth 6) get shoes on 7) get coat on if necessary 8) kiss mom 9) have a blast at school!

He entered my room at 6:30, gave me a kiss, told me he was exited for his first day & then promptly left to make his bed & put in the outfit we picked out the night prior.

He ate his favorite breakfast (pancakes) on his Special Day plate.

Then he quickly completed the rest if his tasks.  We had time to spare, but 7:40 came around quickly.  We took some pictures.

I actually asked him to be silly to loosen up a bit.

Ryan said no to a picture.... But I will always say yes to a pic with my boys!

I have other pics on my 'good' camera.

Off to the bus we go!

At the bus stop with a few first graders & a third grader.

The bus came very much on time at 7:50.  Off he went!  He did turn around for a pic , such a great kiddo'

I made sure he had his bus pass on.  The other moms mentioned that the bus drivers are very good about checking it.  This bus driver didn't....and the other moms noticed.   Between that & seeing my baby get on that bus....I started to lose it.  I waited until I left them & I grabbed Ryan & we got in the car.  A million things raced thru my mind but I needed to make sure my baby got to school safely.  I couldn't find the bus on it's few street-route, so I headed to the school.  I pulled in after making sure I was allowed (that it wasn't bus-only) & I was relieved when I saw I his bus there.  I didn't see Logan since many other busses were passing his bus.  I felt better, but now my lil man was in that big ol school....

I pulled it together & went home, did laundry & started cleaning up the place.  My parents arrived soon after. 

I watched the clock like a hawk & we all walked down to the bus stop at 10:35.  I knew I was early, but in case they were super fast, I didn't want to miss a beat.  I met another neighbor while waiting.  Her daughter Sophie is in the same class as Logan.  The bus arrived around 10:55.  This bus driver did the valid checks against his bus pass, unfortunately the office that hAd me full it out have me incorrect directions <sigh>. (Their organization has a lot of room for improvement).

He was so excited!  He held my hand & told me many things about his day. :)

They had a celebration of the flag.

We rode on a pretend bus!

His teacher has black hair; long; is tall & nice.

He said there were LOTS of girls & LOTS & LOTS & LOTS of boys.  (Not sure if meant all together or in his class, cuz his class has about 16 students....

They colored the front of a crayon book.

They didn't line up to use the bathroom but he did use it.  Later he showed me the way to raise your hand if you need to bisected bathroom. 

They did not sing any songs.

The teacher read a book called the kissing hand in which a mom raccoon kisses the baby (raccoon)'a hand & in turn later the baby kisses its moms hand.   He liked it.

He says they got to choose where they sit, but later he told be he was wrong.  He did sit at a table with 2 other boys; no names.

They out their backpacks on the back of their chairs.

Miss Oh gave them a purple folder to use as the communication to & from

Home/ school.  She sent home a letter from her & the newsletter.

He had a wonderful first day & was so excited to go back!!

Tie Dye Shirts

On vacation we made tie dye shirts!  My cousin Lauren led the process & all the little cousins had fun....oh & Dawn, James, Melissa & I!!

Lauren taught us how to roll in spirals or stripes.

Logan's turn squirt on the color. He chose navy, teal, green, red & yellow.  He also chose to do the spiral technique.

Logan's shirt is all done!  Now to sit in the sun for a few hours....

Carter's turn.  He knew exactly what he wanted & was very serious picking out his colors.  So cute!  Navy, teal, yellow & red.  Carter also chose the spiral technique.  Ryan had no choice & went with my choice if stripes. :)

Carter's done!

Finished product!

When Logan gets ahold of my phone...

There was about 60 pictures on my phone...here is the highlight reel.

So this shows what a mess these crazy kids can make in a day, but Carter is being silly with the foam roller & Ryan is holding an RC controlled that looks like a gun.  Aiyiyi....

Doctor & A Pilot

A relaxing morning waiting for the construction guys to dig, dig, dig.  The boys thought I needed a checkup.   My temperature showed a sad face, so I was glad they caught it in time.

I was lucky that my treatment included getting my hair brushed (cuz it actually felt quite good & super relaxing). :)

In the meantime, Ryan cruised around with a pilot hat on.  The boys built this tower & Ryan walked around several times with pliers in hand, put a few pieces on & took one off but I was impressed that he never knocked it down.

Then he moved on to the trains with sound effects & all!

Ryan's Bedtime Books

After pj's & brushing teeth....this is the book regimen we follow.  Sometimes in no order, but often times it is something like this:

1) Go Dogs Go!  He likes the part best where we say "Stop dogs stop!  The light is red."  Because he puts his hand out & says "Stop!"

2) Pajama Time! - This was a favorite with all the boys.  We read it in a sing-song voice but stop to point out the colors of everybody's pajamas.  He also likes to say "shhhh" while holding his finger over his mouth.

3) The Belly Button book - he had quite an obsession with his belly button for quite some time, so it only seemed fitting to get him this book.  

4) I Love You Through and Through - I know why each of the kids loved this book & honestly it is one of my favorites for sure.  It is short sentences, but as we go through it, it points out different parts of the body & emotions.  Ryan doing each & every party is quite cute & each time he does I tell myself that next time I will record him. Hasn't happened yet.

5) Perfect Piggies - he loves to hand me this book but only lately does he actually sit through the whole thing. 

6) The Going to Bed Book - same thing; loves to hand it over but only recently has he cared to hear the whole thing.  I called this book the stall tactic for awhile.

7) Mickey Mouse Book - he loves to read this one but sometimes (& I don't complain ) he likes to skip to the end....it is kind of long comparatively...  Other times he does enjoy matching the picture to the button & hearing the sound. :)

8) Bedtime Prayers - we like to end our story session with a little prayer (besides the common one we taught the boys). 

And there you have it!  If a book is forgotten, after I leave the room, he will open the door & just stick out the book & say sweetly...."book.  book.  book." until I come & read that book.  Other times he does that to re- read them.  Another stall tactic.

I do plan on switching out the books soon to mix it up a bit.  But I love that he loves books!!

Construction Time!

Our patio is being demo'd today!!

Everybody is watching!

Ryan is sawing the 'patio' that Logan built for him.

Carter dressed up!

Stealing bacon

Very sneaky.....

Park

The boys & I went to the park the other day & ol & behold....there were other kids there!  All boys!  Their ages!  What?!

A couple boys were misbehaving & their mom took them away.  Then one other boy was left & David walked up to Carter & asked him to play.  Carter said, sure.  Let's run!  They had so much fun!

Logan did an awesome job of hanging with Ryan when he went exploring. :)

Ryan spotted a bunny.  He proceeded to sneak up on it. The other boys caught wind of this action.  

The group sneak....

After lots of playing, they rested.

Ryan did copy them but it didn't last long enough for me to capture...

Back home for a Popsicle break!