Catch of the day

We haven't seen the kids since they've gotten home from school yesterday! They've been out in the backyard catching toads! Erik's toad's name is Spiderman and Annika's is Rainbow. Our neighbors have been over and they have made a home for all of them in buckets. Its just fun to listen to them! These pictures were taking first thing this morning. And, yes, Erik is wearing fleece Christmas pajamas! Even in the heat of the summer, they are still his favorite!



Now all the kids are in the basement. I just went down there to check things out and there are 6 girls and Erik. Erik says he needs another boy! All the girls have beautiful, princess dresses on. Our next door neighbors are a little older than my kids and are very creative! And, they are the nicest girls. :) Its 1:15 and I'm wondering when they are going to get hungry for lunch! The mom in me was getting it ready for 12 and Tim said just to wait until they get hungry....we'll see when that is. They are having too much fun. Alaina and I were going to go birthday shopping, but I just can't pull her away from all the action!

E Man's First....

Erik's first day came and went. What a day. I thought I was pretty organized this morning. Had their lunches made and their water bottles out. Their backpacks were packed with their name tags hanging on them. I was ready! But, we got to school and somehow their name tags did not come with them or their water bottles! Other than that, we did good. :) Erik and Alaina got to where they needed to be and holding back the tears....we said "good bye" for the day.


On the step...I took a whole bunch of pictures before I realized after each picture my camera said, no memory card! So, we had to start all over!



Here's the whole crew! Kind of like the band is breaking up! They are used to being with each other all day every day!


All of us!


Walking down the hall to his classroom.


The kids all have to have an oversized white tee shirt with their name on the front for gym so the teacher can see who they are! Here he is with his shirt and new tennies!


It was really quiet around here! We got home and Issy went straight to bed. Got her up at 10 and we went and visited Annika's preschool. She cannot wait 6 more days to go! She said, "Mom, can you just drop me off and pick me up later?!" She enjoyed being back and seeing her room again! We were just there for 1/2 hour or so and came back home and played. Issy went down again at 12, so the afternoon was An's and mine. We played Trouble and read books. Mom needed a rest, so we even watch Little Einsteins. My favorite. :) Then after a really long afternoon we went and picked up the kids.

Erik said he is going back tomorrow. And, "Mom, we didn't even sleep the whole entire day! And, we played in the gym once and went to the park (playground) twice! It was so cool."

Alaina said in her most dramatic way, "All I could think about all day was lunch! I was so starving and we had to wait forever to eat!" I told her tomorrow she will have to eat toast with her Cheerios....so it will be interesting to see her at breakfast! She said she was going to eat a lot!

For dinner we had spaghetti and broccoli with frozen blueberries for dessert. Their favorite. They got to eat on the "red" plates, so that was even more cool!

So, I will conclude that our first day of all day school was a success!!


Here's a couple of my hillbilly daughter! She just has one top tooth! She was loving the blueberries and was being really goofy at the table. It sure does help when you have an audience laughing and egging her on!

First Day!

Alaina's first day of school!! She looked super and wore a huge smile on her face! She took a shower this morning, so we could make her hair shiny and beautiful. I wish Nana Bev was here to do that!! We got a little confused when we got to school. I thought we were suppose to go straight to their classrooms, but apparently I missed the memo that said everyone was meeting outside on the playground! So, we went through the school and it was really quiet....then thought the gym would be my next guess. NOPE!! Finally I asked someone! So, we missed the line up, but she did get to where she needed to be. I didn't get pictures inside her classroom yet....I'll wait awhile for that. It was just too busy this morning.
She's in good hands!! And, she's got some really great kids in her class.


Doesn't she look so grown up??!! This is the outfit Auntie Amy put together for her.



Erik had just a "meet the teacher" morning. Annika came with us and Issy was on my back. They just found their seats and then Mrs. Merlin read "The Kissing Hand". Love that book. :) The kids made a little art project to go along with the book.

This little girl sitting next to Erik was not as enthusiastic about kindergarten!!



Erik's table mate Fernanda wasn't there....she missed lasts nights orientation, as well, so I'm not sure what it up with her! So, Annika got to sit in her spot! Mrs. Merlin called her Fernanda once for fun and everyone got a little laugh out of that b/c she is sure not a Fernanda with her blond hair!! I was impressed, though, that she could write her name better than most in the class! They were all suppose to close their eyes and open their hand for a special "kindergarten" kiss. Its not obvious that Annika is peeking, is it?!!!



Erik already LOVES Mrs. Merlin. I would too if I were 5!! She's great! She just had twins, Layla and Noah, in January. Just adorable!

Tomorrow it starts FOR REAL! Bread is in the oven so I'll have that ready for sandwiches this week and next. My fridge is full of healthy "lunch" stuff. Thank goodness we have the extra fridge in the laundry room! That's full of milk, juice boxes, water, and FINALLY Stoneyfield Organics came out with their own GO GURTS! I've been waiting and waiting! The kids always ask for go gurts, but its so unnatural to have a bright blue, cotton candy flavor yogurt! These are wonderful and I tasted a blueberry/raspberry one today and I might be stealing one for myself every once in awhile! I need to pack a lunch, along with an afternoon snack. I think they are set. I told Alaina today that she could have hot lunch sometimes, but she said she never wants to do that! I think the practice in the cafeteria today made her a little nervous!



Here' my new haircut courtesy of my photographer, Alaina! I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it like this or go shorter. The back is layered a lot. It does feel good to have it gone! I like long hair on other people.....just not me!



I'll post tomorrow night with E's first day wrap up!! As I was writing this E got up 3 times starving....I think he's got the jitters! I'm glad Tim is home tonight!

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow's the first day of school in our house! We've had a first day of school (preschool & 1/2 day kindergarten) every year for a long time, but this is a new beginning for us! All day, every day....it will be kind of sad watching Alaina leave, but I know that she is so ready for this. Sure, she's a little nervous, but you can see her excitement underneath! First grade is so much fun. There is so much growth in this one year. Its amazing. I just hope I can keep up with everything that I need to do as a mom!!

My life of routine starts now! I'm not the best with routine. Well, I should say that I've never really had to have one. Yes, we eat three meals a day, Issy takes two naps a day, but other than that we're pretty flexible. Sometimes the kids get up at 6:30....sometimes, like Friday, Annika will sleep until 9:30! It just depends on the day. But, not anymore! I need to be out the door at 8:30. Lunches made and hair combed!

Erik had his kindergarten orientation tonight. I thought it was a child/parent thing, but it was just a parent thing! Erik did fine just sitting there patiently waiting for the 45 minutes to be done. Its fun that a little girl that used to live in Collierville is in his class. :) Her family lived in Wolf Ridge (just across the road from Eastbrook!) and now just lives around the corner from us. I met them at a garage sale in May. How funny. :) I'm glad I got to go through the kindergarten experience last year....I feel like I'm a pro at it. Its not so overwhelming this time around! He's ready, though!! But, when we went to pick up Annika's preschool packet he saw his teachers from last year and the year before that. Everyone got a big "Erik" hug and even a few teachers that haven't had him, but just know his reputation! When I was tucking him into bed he told me that he wanted to have his old teachers and go back to his old school. He's not one who likes change. When he was in the 3 year old class in TN, Tim went with him to his open house in November. School started the end of August and Erik took Tim to his 2 year old class! Tim didn't know! Ms. Kathy was always Erik's favorite! Finally she realized that they weren't just visiting to say hi, so had to take Tim and Erik down to his real class!!

So, can I keep up?? Erik starts on Thursday. Annika starts next Wednesday. She'll go MWF from 9-11:30. It will just be me and Issy at home. Its going to be so quiet around here! And, every afternoon I'll have Annika all to myself while Issy takes a nap. We have to pick up some new games and puzzles! Ours are getting a little old!

Will post pictures after they go to school. And, all my Facebook friends....I tried to post pictures of my new haircut today, but couldn't get the pictures downloaded. SOMEDAY we will have to get an up-to-date computer! This oldie isn't going to last much longer! But, I do like short hair and am trying to decide if I need to go shorter! I also realized that, besides having a TON of hair, I have a lot of body in my hair! Crazy. Humidity doesn't help! I should just wear a wig!

This really has nothing to do with the first day of school, but last week Annika had gotten up around 8ish. I saw her go into the bonus room upstairs so I just stood by the door and watched her. I'll let them watch tv up there sometimes when they get up. Well, she was moving through the channels pretty quick...kind of like her dad. She passed up Disney, Nick Jr., and PBS. Those are the only channels they are aloud to watch. I was expecting her to go back to one of them! But, she didn't. She kept moving along....quickly! Finally she just stopped! "Here it is!" She exclaimed! She didn't know I was watching her! Then she relaxed on her chair and preceded to watch.....The Essence of Emeril on the Food Network! I caught her watching that a few months ago!! Do I have a chef on my hands??!!

Got to get to bed! I've been doing really good getting my workout done at 6am, and that comes pretty early!! I feel like I am finally getting back into shape!! :)

10 months

Before I go to bed I thought I'd show off Isabel and her 10 month photo diaper shots. She just got out of the tub, so her hair is a little fancy tonight! I didn't get as many this time around....I wonder why??!! Daddy is just not a good spotter. But, she forgave him pretty quickly.


















Thumb in mouth....now everything's okay. :)

Caught up

I think I'm caught up. Oh this week as been nuts. My kids are ready for school and its been the first week, well 3 days anyway, where its just been us! So, you can just imagine the adjustment of lots of activity to just boring mom! I was just striking out left and right...for some reason I was not cool anymore! And, with Issy taking morning and afternoon naps, we were limited.

Yesterday we did some shopping to get ready for school. Its tough buying lunch boxes for 10 bucks a piece knowing very well that in 2 week they will be 70% off! But, its the first day of "big" school for both the kids, so new Spiderman and Hello Kitty lunch boxes were just what we needed. I got to the check out and unloaded the bottom of the stroller to find that my purse was not buried under all the stuff. Bummer! That means after waiting in line for what seemed to be forever I had to run out to the van to get it! So, our way out to the van it crossed my mind to just drive away and leave the "stuff" there at the checkout. Besides, is it really worth going back in with all the kids?!! But, the lunchboxes. The kids would know. So, we made it to the van and my purse wasn't there. That means it would have to be in the shoe department. Now I really can't just drive away. Annika was too tired to walk in the first time, so this was going to be tough! As we went back in a cashier was trying to flag me down. Apparently, they knew that I was the owner of the missing purse! We checked out and I had told the kids earlier that if they stuck close by they could get popcorn on the way out. They didn't forget. But, that changed to ice cream when they saw all the flavors! Annika wanted the pink one, but the "older" lady working there said that it was too hard to scoop, could she pick another?! The girls got their ice cream and Erik got his popcorn. Was it horrible of me that that was also their dinner? Tim was gone and I was just at the end of it...I am just too tired!! So now, being my house is clean (!!) I am going to sleep in tomorrow. And, we also have a babysitter for tomorrow night. A trial run with the next door neighbor. If it works out she will be really nice to have next door. :)

Bikini Baby

Okay...I had to do it just for the laughs. And, we had many. This is a suit from you, Jen! I'm sure Maddie didn't fill it out quite this nicely!


Yes, the hat is a little much, but it keeps the sun off! And, when you are this pasty white, it doesn't take much to turn red!!

Sleeping Bear Dunes

This trip to The Sleeping Bear Dunes on the northwest coast of Lower MI added about 3hours onto our trip from Grand Rapids to the Bridge, but I knew Tim would do it. He saw it on the map and thought it would be fun... The bummer of it all was that we were going to stop for lunch before we got there and I did see a Culver's sign and we thought it was just up ahead....it wasn't. So, we were all hungry and there are no food places....just cottages all along the route. Oh well. The kids didn't care a whole lot when they started running up! It was pretty steep, too! The camera does not do it justice. Tim got half way up and he got a phone call. It was a work day for him, so he spent the whole time we were up there talking to a guy from Iowa. Thanks a lot Iowa dude! Just a boring paper guy, too.... The kids ran up and down three times.....Erik wiped out once, but you don't get hurt!

Tim and Issy on their way up....before the phone call!


There's our van! Camper in tow with the bikes on the top. We are just waiting for the Carriers to join us sometime!


Here's the view from the top!

Ahhhh!! If I only had this on video!




Then afterwards we were trying to get back to the main highway....Tim hadn't been paying much attention to the gas gage when the light went on....well, at only 10.7 miles to the gallon it moves down pretty quickly. And, do you think there would be a gas station in such a touristy place!! NOPE!! But, about 25 scary miles down the road a gas station came out of no where. We were saved just in time. :) And, then found a late lunch about an hour later!

Mackinac Bridge

Tim's big goal this summer was to go camping by the Mackinac Bridge. We sure couldn't camp any closer than this! I actually took these right from our campfire pit! The kids LOVE the bridge. Ever since last summer when we went to the Island. We just camped there one night, so we didn't go grocery shopping. In the morning we were going to go out for breakfast (I like that kind of camping!) and Tim asked Erik where he wanted to go. He said, "Across the Mackinac Bridge!" So, we went back over it and had breakfast in Mackinaw City and bummed around there a bit.


Heading over the bridge! Lis...are you scared yet??!


It was a little chilly, but the kids didn't care! They put their suits on anyway!


Tim was in awe as we watched this huge boat go under!


What a picture....I especially like the seagull in the air! I really DON'T like those birds at 5:30 in the morning, though!


This was taken in the morning. Kind of a cool picture!

We left around noonish and had all day to get to Wells Park, so of course we had to stop at The Mystery Spot! Tim had never been there and I was there once when I was younger. Its just something you have to do once. :) The kids thought it was great and oh so mysterious!


Alaina just chillin' on a chair with only 2 legs supported!


Erik loved walking like this!

Chuck and Buck

Alaina LOVES Chuck and Buck now! We never knew that she would take to them so much! Thanks, Auntie Susie, for taking the time to "play" with them! :) Here is Alaina taking Pupsi, Erik, and Annika for a ride. She thought she was so cool b/c she could drive him all by herself! And, another highlight of the week was giving Chuck his first bath! He was pretty dirty, but I think the kids got him clean! I didn't get any pictures of the kids riding Buck and Chuck with the saddles, b/c I was leading them, but it was pretty fun. Last time we were there the kids were a little nervous.....not this time. Even Annika jumped on and rode all over! No one fell off! :)

Already??!

Is it the 19th already??! Where did the days go? As of today our summer activity is over. We got home on Friday, thanks to Uncle Anders for driving the kids and I! Joe, Jackie and the girls came on Saturday for a fun weekend of more play, and today Rachel, my roommate from Bethel, came to visit with her two kids! Too much fun. :) But, as of right now our house is just filled with the 6 of us and everyone is in their own beds.

I can just say that this last trip was exhausting! We had lots of "down" time, but all in all, it drained us. Here are some of my favorite pictures. There are just too many to go through!! I do think my kids are genuine "country" kids. They spent every waking hour outside for 2 weeks. From camping at Wells to Wallace....there's just nothing that can beat it!! Pupsi's and Nana's pond is a favorite!! And, they learned to love turtles and frogs! They've had a hard time adjusting to life back in town! I'd take the country....


Alaina, Erik, & Ryan floating away on the raft...


I love this one....Erik and Ryan were so anxious to get into the pond that they decided their undies would work just as well as a swimsuit!! Gotta love Spiderman!!


They look like they were getting along great! Let's just pretend that they were. :)


Pupsi wins the prize for biggest and best sandbox! Whoo hoo!!


Here's that nekkid kid again!!


Okay, can you just take a guess as to why Annika came up out of the water in tears??


Everytime the turtle would move Annika would drop it! Good thing he has a shell!!


Love it!! Aren't they so cute??!


Favorite picture of E. Swimsuit,dirt, and a frog.....it doesn't get any better than this when you are 5!!


This is just An being An.


Ice Cream Bar break with Tessa, Taya, & Kajsa!!


One means one for each hand, right??!!


Alaina's not quite ready for the real "Erik hold" but she's getting closer!

I'll post some more tomorrow. But, for now that's it. :) Isabel was at the doctor today and her ear infections are clearing up. She had a rough go last week with stubborn infections that wouldn't go away, but we are on the clear now. Its time to sleep. :)