Chore Day

This was from about a month ago. .  I'm seriously behind with my updates!

 

I've been having the kids help me clean the house - they each have a couple chores to do each week.  Caleb has to make sure there are two rolls of toilet paper in each bathroom and Sarah has to clean the sink in the bathroom. 

 

After they were done with their normal chores, they both decided to help me finish cleaning . . . wasn't that nice?!?  They both did a great job & I was thankful for the help!

No More Crib!

Look at his big boy bed!  Isn't it exciting! 

No more crib. . . no more keeping him in bed until I decide to get up. . . sigh.

 

He was so excited about his new bed we had to celebrate with a hot chocolate . . .  

 

From the mouth of my kids. . .

As Caleb and I were patiently waiting for Sarah's dance class to end last night we were discussing what to do when we go home.  Caleb got so excited and said "I know Mom, we can watch the Cardinals!!!"  To which I sadly responded "The Cardinals lost, buddy.  We have to wait another 5 months to see them again."  Then he proceeded to tell the other Mom waiting that the Cardinals lost.

 

Now for Sarah's lovely comment. . . . I just finished fixing my hair in a new style (and for me this is quite a huge accomplishment).  I went into the kitchen to show Brandon and Sarah to see what they thought.  Brandon, such a smart man, said it looks great!  My beautiful, nice daughter, what did she say??  "It looks like you woke up with bed head and didn't want to do anything about it, so you put your hair in a pony tail."  And so it begins. .  .



This morning Caleb informed me that he kept his gum under his pillow all night so the tooth fairy would know where he put it!  (Sadly, I ran out of time to check to see if the gum was still in the wrapper or not. . . )

On the way into town this morning Caleb informed me that "Daddy is a good van driver and a good boat paddler."  Not sure what he was thinking, but he did mention them as we were driving past a lake. . . I wonder if he was worried I would drive off the road???

My View of Halloween

This isn't my exact view of Halloween, but I do like the truth in it!!!

 

 

 

Sarah's Halloween Summary

Kids truly have a different view of the world!  Here is a paper Sarah created after Halloween.

 

It reads: "Mmmm! Yummy! I drew a picture of my candy bag with candy in it. Wow! That was delishous! I got a lot of candy! Raise your hand if you want to hlep me eat all of my candy P.S. My favrit candy is The snickers."

 

My favorite part of the picture. .  that she wanted to share her candy! 

Sarah's Time LIne

I'm not sure if they were talking about life issues in school or why exactly Sarah was thinking about the rest of her life, but this is what she came up with. . .

 

Here is her time line:

Age 3: Walking

Age 10: High School

Age 18: Car Riding

Age 30: Have a Baby

 

Sigh. . . oh how wonderful to have your whole life in front of you!!!

The Animal Game

Caleb wanted to play the animal game this morning on the way to Grandpa's house.  Here were my clues:

• It's big
• It's pink
• It has brown poop

Wow. . . what great clues!!  I guessed a flamingo - wrong!  I guess an ostrich - wrong!  Finally, I got it right . . . a pig!

 

In my defense, the poop clue threw me way off!!!

Little Drummer Boy

Don't you love when you think you've put away toys to where they will never be found again??

Caleb found his drum and then decided to use this empty popcorn can for a "cymbal," yes - that is what he called it!  I think Brandon was so proud of him!

 

I thought he would tire of the drums, but several days later, he is still banging away and now it's even better because he is taking them to different locations in the house. . . my bedroom, the basement, the bathroom. . .

 

Don't get any ideas - he does NOT need a drum set for Christmas!!!

Sarah's 7th Birthday!

Sarah turned 7!  Yippie!  Well she turned 7 a couple months ago, but I'm reliving the past! 

 

The dress she is wearing was a gift from Grandma - it's all she asked for - a dress with horses on it!  Way to go Grandma, she loves the dress! 

 

Sarah has discovered how to search for images on Google,

so she designed her own birthday cake this year. 

I believe this was her third choice only because Brandon's store can't make a cake out of fondant icing!  But the cake looked great and Caleb was generous enough to let us use his farm animals for decorations! 

 

Sarah waiting on Brandon to say her special Birthday Prayer! 

 

Great Grandma Lill, Sarah & me

 

The BIG birthday gift from Brandon & me. .  a monkey bar addition to her swing set! 

 

But of course, that wasn't enough of an addition. . . so Brandon extended the swing area and added this other swing "thingy" . . not sure what it's really called, but you can swing & twist on it.  Sarah seemed to enjoy it! 

 

Even though it was a very hot day, the kids all enjoyed playing outside on the improved swing set. . well for about 30 minutes anyway - it was hot!

Caleb even got to enjoy the new monkey bars thanks to a little help from Uncle Jason!

 

Then Uncle Jason got to play too - I just wasn't fast enough with the camera!

 

After such a wonderful birthday party, we always need a follow up birthday party on our actual birthdate!  So we had a little leftover cake and a few more gifts to stretch out the excitement!  After all you only turn 7 once!

 

Happy Birthday, Sarah!  We love you!



Caleb's First Day of Preschool

Caleb has been going to school for over one month now!

He loves it, but let me back track a little. . .

 

Here is our first morning of Caleb getting ready to go to school.

His every important sugary breakfast cereal. . . yum!

 

We had his crayon cup all decorated with Mickey Mouse stickers. . .

sorry, buddy - I just couldn't find any tractor stickers!

Note for next year - check Lee's in Nashville . . .found them there a couple days ago!

But nevertheless, his cup look cool & he enjoyed putting all the stickers on it!

 

He only briefly hesitated at the door and then went in to play with all the tractors at the school!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. . . my little man is going to school!

Caleb is Getting Ready

While Sarah is off & running with her school already, Caleb's hasn't started!

His first day isn't until the Wednesday after Labor Day!

But he did get a letter in the mail from his teacher!

He was very excited to get mail (once he gets older and all the mail consists of bills, I'm sure his opinion will change)!

 

He studied the letter for quite some time, even after I read it to him.

I asked him what he was thinking . . . he wanted to know "which one is my teacher?"

I couldn't help but giggle because the boarder of the letter was cartoon pictures of kids!

 

Hopefully this enthusiasm will last through the first day!

I cannot believe we are getting ready to send him off to preschool!

Time really does fly by!

Sarah's first day of school

It's finally here . .  Sarah's first day of SECOND grade!

Mrs. McFall is her teacher and she is very excited!

I even painted her nails purple with white polka dots!

 

What a difference this year is making for her - she is actually excited to go to school! 

Of course, we had to have chocolate chip pancakes to start off our first day right!

 

Our traditional first day of school picture with backpack:

 

She is so beautiful!

 

Brandon had to rush off to work before Sarah woke up, but he called as we were driving to school to wish her good luck on her first day!  What a Dad!

 

Her first day was only until 10:30, but it seemed much longer (for her & me)!

Here comes her bus!!

 

She even looks like a SECOND grader here!

I'm sure she's thinking "Mom, quit taking pictures . . . I'm just walking to the van."

 

This is the only picture I was "allowed" to take at the open house. . . a picture of her nicely organized desk!  See I have passed a few things to my children - unfortunately she keeps her desk more organized than her room, but I'm at least 1 for 2, right?

Sweet Moments

Isn't this heart warming?  Caleb fell asleep watching cartoons on Sarah's computer!  She let him lay there until I had to wake him up. . . so peaceful.  It is so wonderful when the kids are nice to each other and get along.  They can both be so nice and sweet when they want to be.

Hot Air Balloon Fun

While Brandon was working away at the homecoming picnic, the kids, Grandma & I went to see the Hot Air Balloons in Centralia!  This was awesome!  It was our first time going, but I think we will definitely go again next year!  Hopefully I won't get lost next time!  Thankfully we made it just in time to see the balloons lifting off from the ground!

 

This was one of the kids favorite balloons.  There was also a Pepsi can and Humpty Dumpty!

 

The kids love stamps . . . these are hot air balloons.

 

Grandpa entertained the kids while Grandma & I shopped the craft fair!  It was a good thing Grandpa was there to take Caleb into the port-a-potty - I have a serious phobia of those!  Of course, then Sarah needed to use the facilities, so I faced my fear and helped her.  Needless to say, she probably now has the same phobia I have. . . ugh.  I do pray I am passing on positive things to my children as well!

 

We stayed to see the balloon's glow . . . they were beautiful!

It was so cool watching them light up!

 

It was a wonderful evening; I only wish Brandon would have been able to join us!  Hopefully next year!



Sarah's New Dress

Ta Da . . .

I made this skirt for Sarah!

She loved it - perfect amount of twirl and ruffles for her taste!

 

I cannot wait to make another one!

Now that I have a serger (yippie) - it will take me far less time!

First s'more of the season!

It's finally time for S'MORES! 

Oh, how I love this beautiful season!

 

Sarah was determined to make the perfect s'more.

She roasted those marshmallows for more than 5 minutes!

 

Caleb wasn't quite as patient as Sarah, enjoying the marshmallow right out of the bag!

 

I believe Caleb ate 2 marshmallows by the time Sarah finally finished roasting hers!

Grandpa even roasted a perfect one for Grandma!

 

Enjoying, quite possibly, his 3rd marshmallow!

 

 

 

Sarah enjoying her hard work!  They were delicious!

I hope we get to enjoy many more evenings just like this!