Here, There and Everywhere

At least I feel like that's where I've been lately. In actuality, it's been in a big circle...school, soccer practice, piano lessons, soccer games, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts.

We have had some fun doing different things, too, though. We took the kids to the State Fair of Texas a week ago and had a great time - Fletcher's corny dogs, Hans Mueller German sausage, plenty of rides for the kids on the Midway. Going to the Fair is an event that all of us look forward to each year. There's so much to see, and so many things to do. Instead of loading a zillion photos on here, I made a Slide show. In case you can't quite figure out what's happening in the photos, just move your cursor over the picture and a caption will appear.

Aside from that fun, my Brownie Girl Scout troop went to the local pumpkin patch/animal farm this past weekend. The girls had a great time seeing all of the animals (everything from chickens and geese to zebras and alpaca), going on a very bumpy hay ride, and choosing just the right pumpkin. Edie is now involved with the group as a Daisy Girl Scout, so doing things with the Scouts really is a family affair!

Wayne and Wyatt went on a Cub Scout camp out - Cub O Ree - this weekend. Wyatt has joined a new Pack and really enjoys going to Scouting events. Wayne really likes the new Pack and I feel like there will be many Boy Scout activities in our future.

An Update...Finally!

It's been a while since I updated here - life's gotten in the way of frequent blog posts.

School is in full swing and I think everyone's getting accustomed to working again. The first 6 weeks will come to a close at the end of the week and we'll get the first report cards on October 1st.

In the meantime, all three kids are now taking piano lessons. I think they're enjoying it - they're all willing to sit down and practice, and to even do the theory work. Wyatt got the music for the "Star Wars" theme and is pretty excited about it.

Edie is taking dance again and started back to classes a couple of weeks ago and is having fun. I'm having headaches, though - it seems like every other girl in the class has a younger, louder sibling who likes to run in circles in the waiting room while screaming at the top of their lungs. Maybe I should hit Wayne up for some earplugs!



Both girls are now playing soccer, too. So our weekends have gone from leisure time to very hectic. Okay, so there wasn't much leisure time anyway, but they definitely weren't so booked up! Anyway, Chloe's team is the Burn and she had her first game on Saturday. She played a bit of defense near the goal, so her playing time was pretty limited. I have a feeling she'll be doing a lot of running this Saturday.



Edie had her first game on Saturday, too. Her team is the Red Titans and since there aren't many kids on her team, she played a lot. She even got to try out being goalie.



And just for grins, here are a couple of other photos that I liked:





Take care, all!

School Daze

We made it back into the house last Thursday, just in time for Chloe's 7th birthday and the first day of school Monday. We're still living out of a lot of boxes (or around them, as the case may be), and the workers arrive each day at 7 to put the finishing touches on most everything.

I thought I'd share a few first-day pictures of the kids. They're all getting so big, and were very excited to start a new year. Wyatt is our trailblazer and he started 3rd grade with Mrs. Francis this year. She'll be his homeroom teacher and will teach him everything except for English and Reading. He'll move to another teacher's room for those subjects, so this is his first time to work with two teachers.



Chloe started 2nd grade with Mrs. Austell. Wyatt was in her class last year and just loved her - she's such a patient, kind teacher. I know Chloe will have a great year.



Edie is a big kindergartener this year. She was very excited about starting school, and has Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams and her sister and niece are the owners/principal/directors of the school and is a wonderful teacher. Wyatt and Chloe both had Mrs. Williams for kindergarten, so I wanted to be sure that Edie had a great kindergarten year, too.



We had a few tears after that photo was taken. I guess Edie was a little overwhelmed at the idea of school again, but Mrs. Williams was able to handle the situation with her usual grace and kindness. Edie was all smiles at the end of the day and has been happy to go yesterday and today.

Hurry! Look fast!

You better get a fast look at this girl's face. You see, she lost her first tooth on Friday morning. She's barely 5 and I just noticed the week before that she had 2 loose teeth. As soon as we made that discovery, that girl was on the business of making the tooth very loose. And her brother and sister were making deals - trying to get her to let them pull her tooth, making offers if she let them pull her tooth. Even her cousins got in on the act. Madison was all set to pull Edie's tooth.

Then Friday morning came around. She got up and went to the bathroom. Then she came to me and asked if her tooth was gone. And it was! Amy and I searched around the bed that Edie slept in, and that tooth was nowhere to be found.

Fast forward to today - she still had the neighbor tooth hanging in there, but it was loose, too. Late in the afternoon, she ran up to me and bumped into my arm. I told her to quit hitting my arm with her mouth, then looked in her mouth and noticed that the other tooth was gone now. And she didn't even realize it was gone!

So you better take a look at this cute mug before she loses another tooth...literally!

On the Road Again...

Wayne left last week for a new adventure on his bike. This time, he has a friend traveling with him and they've hit some of the most beautiful parts of the United States.

Unfortunately, his riding buddy has had a few problems with his bike. Nothing mechanical or that would slow them down too much - just enough to be irritating.

Here are a few photos from their trip. The first is from Scott's Bluff:



Beartooth Lake, WY:



Wayne's riding buddy Mark, after 15 minutes of driving in Montana:



Springtime in Glacier National Park:

Wow - Pink Overload

I forgot to post pictures of Edie's birthday party, so here they are. She was definitely feeling the Princess theme! Here she is with Chloe and a friend named Kinsie:



She had a great time getting dressed up, then dolled up. They did hair, a bit of makeup, then their fingernails. Edie and her friend Hannah (who's 1 day older and always does parties with Edie) took a princess oath and got tiaras to wear. All in all, it was a beautiful princess-y day!

Happy Fourth of July!

Wayne is on the road with a friend this week - they're headed up one side of the Rocky Mountains, then back down the other side with Glacier National Park as the furtherest point on their adventure.

The kids and I decided to participate in a Fourth of July parade with the local MINI club. Amy and her kids went with us and Maddy and Harrison rode with us in the parade, too. Bet you didn't know we could fit 6 people into a MINI, did you? We were the only convertible, out of about 20 cars. And the only yellow one! There is a reason I chose a yellow car - I wanted it to stand out, and it does!

We hope you're having a fun and safe holiday - there is so much to be thankful for!