First day of School

Today is the first day of school and it seems weird. Usually I am anticipating the first day of school but this year I had mixed feelings. Summer went by way to fast first of all and then Derick is now in middle school which is just weird. I can remember when my friends had their kids going to middle school and I thought,"that is so far away for me." But here we are!!!
Derick was nervous this morning and I told him that was normal. I also told him if you don't know where to go or what to do just ask!!! But you know how boys and men are so we'll just see. Kaitlyn was excited to get a teacher she had in 2nd grade (Mr. Gilbride) who she just adores. Taylor was excited to get Kaitlyn's old 1st grade teacher (Mrs. Goelz). When we got to the school she is so cute and independent, marching right to her line and waiting. Then as they walk into the room she gives me a little wave.
It's always fun to see the parents the first day of school. One thing I always don't do is overreact. You know the parents that smother their kids (who are totally fine) and cry and act ridiculous who then make their kids nervous and sad and then leave them crying and hysterical. Then they stand by the door watching to see how their kid does. And then when the teacher politely closes the door they peek through the windows. I saw a few of these this morning.
On our bike ride home from the school Olivia says,"it's just a mommy, olivia and brett day." Then when we came in the house she asked me for lunch, NO , snack, NOT YET, capri sun, NO and a poptart, NO and on and on. Oh heaven help me!!!!

The whole clan!!!



Taylor 1st grade (Mrs. Goelz)


Kaitlyn 4th grade (Mr. Gilbride)



Derick 6th grade

Camping at Del Valle

This weekend we went camping with the whole family. This is something we've wanted to do for quite awhile so we decided to do a test run before we go further away or more than 1 night. I loved the campground and there was alot to do. After setting up camp we went swimming in the lake which was warm felt great. Then ate some dinner and went on a hike. The kids found a walking stick and we were off. The little ones did good and the hike was steep in some places but they made it. Brett fell asleep in the pack right away, but woke up for the last 15 minutes and loved it. This is something we will definitely do again and we're taking notes of what to bring and what not to bring next time!!

church dresses and Cooper

We are watching our friends dog "Cooper" for a few days and the kids love it. When we were outside yesterday Cooper was sitting by Brett watching the kids play, it was so cute. Well he started jumping up on me so I told him to SIT. He sat right on Brett it was so funny. Brett was just looking at him like,"what is he doing?"




The girls needed some modest Sunday dresses, which are pretty hard to find around here with everything having little straps, but I lucked out at Target. The cool thing was they went from size 4 all the way to size 14. I was able to get all 3 girls matching dresses for pretty cheap.

some good eatin'

We fried up Derick's catfish today for lunch. It went perfectly with seasoned potatoes and fresh green beans. Everyone loved it and I'm ready for them to go catch some more!!!


The fisherman taking the first bite.

Saturday morning fishing

Derick and James woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. and went fishing. They caught so many catfish. Derick was on cloud nine. I was laughing at how into the fish Olivia and Taylor were. They wanted to touch them, hold them, watch James gut them. GROSS!!! Now tomorrow we will get to eat them! Nothing like fried fish, seasoned potatoes and fresh green beans.

Beach

A few weeks ago we went to the beach, which is one of our favorite places. I love setting up camp and the kids being entertained with exploring, digging, building stuff, etc. and it lasting all day long. Well this day was not that, it was so cold!!! The kids still ran around even swam in the ocean but we only lasted a couple of hours and we were out of there.


Right when we got there Derick had to dig a huge hole. It worked out great because in his hole he was sheltered from the wind and so he hung out with Brett in there.


Brett loved the sand and playing with it.

Kaitlyn's snazzy outfit

Kaitlyn and I went shopping the other day to spend her birthday money. She got a couple church dresses and some cute sandals. I love that she looks at the price right away and even it is something she thinks is really cute it has be in her price range. Here are some pic's of her on Sunday after church. Oh and of course one of Brett because he is the baby!!!!

Fireworks

Watching fireworks during the cornfest is a tradition now for our family. However we always seem to get next to some people who are smoking and playing their music WAY too loud. We've got to find a better spot, but all in all the fireworks are amazing and the kids loved it.

Highwire act

This summer for about 3 weeks they've been working on these huge power lines near our house and me and the kids have been fascinated watching them. They transport the guys and all the materials by using 2 helicopters and it was flawless. Here are some pictures we took.