What? I can't hold their hands anymore???

The past three days have been exciting and tiring. School has been great for everyone! First day of high school was a success!!...classes were found...ate lunch with friends...saw friends in the hallway...bought all school supplies (after going out to different stores two nights in a row)...happy to be a freshman! Jordan is already studying for tests, doing projects, and learning how to sign the alphabet! First three days of school and already working hard. 5th grade is great! Paige is juggling carrying all her stuff from class to class, but loves the new smart boards in the classrooms and new teachers! 3rd grade is great for Chase because he has a buddy in his class...reading nightly has already started and Chase is making sure he is ahead of the game! He is excited because he and his friend will be riding their bikes to school together. Sometimes with mom and sometimes without mom. Am I ready for that???? We sat down and went over the rules very carefully....don't talk to strangers, ALWAYS stay together, and the list went on! Yesterday, I rode with the kids to school, but Chase and his buddy were eager to leave right away and beat us home. I was happy to see he was listening to our little talk...we managed to catch up with him because his buddies chain came off his bike. It was about 100 degrees, but they were side by side walking their bikes home. 1st grade is going to be amazing! Cody has already been line leader, tried on his teachers husbands shoes (a fun activity in the classroom) and is currently been designated the job of "doctor" in the class. All go to him if they are in need of a bandaid! I can tell he is having a great full day....he takes him all of 3 minutes to fall asleep once his head hits the pillow. The other night he was laying in my bed. (yes he still does that) I asked him if he was sleepy. He said, "one eye is, but the other one isn't." About 10 minutes later I said are you tired now? He said, "both eyes are sleepy now." That was the last I heard from him.
Moms first three days......have been crazy busy, but looking around the house you would think I sat and watched tv all day....I have lists and lists of things to get done, and the day is over before I accomplish any of them....not to mention I'm exhausted.....maybe I am just "emotionally" drained.
Tonight once again reminded me of the fact I am getting old! We had our introduction to seminary meeting for Jordan.....she has a great teacher! I'm so excited for her. I was teasing her tonight and told her I was going to be the "room mom" for seminary. She was laughing pretty hard, while at the same time asking, "are you really? Your kidding right." She then smiled at me and said (very sweetly), "mom, we need some separation."
Alot has already been learned this week for the kids and for mom! Can't wait to see what next week brings!

BACK TO SCHOOL!

The summer has ended and the kids are on their way to school. As parents Rick and I want our children to be as prepared as possible for things that may come their way. Unfortunately the world is very different than the world we grew up in. We felt one way to do this was to have a back to school dinner. Rick grilled the kids favorite dinner.....SALMON! And we had a great theme along with dinner!Yes, the theme for this year is BE PREPARED! We felt if the kids could be prepared in four areas they would have a great start! Be Prepared to hear the spirit of the Lord. Be Prepared to be an example. Be Prepared to Choose the Right. Be Prepared to be Steadfast and Immoveable. To help the younger kids visualize and remember each of these things I made little cards for them and put them on a ring. At dinner each child also had an object.....Cody - an arrow (choose the right), Chase - a mirror (be an example), Paige - a picture of a mountain (be steadfast and immoveable), and Jordan - a book teaching how to recognize the spirit of the Lord.I could have sat at that table all night.....we had some great discussions about what the kids felt they might be tempted with this year. As I sat at the end of the table, I couldn't help but stare down at the other end just watching and listening to my awesome hubby! While much of the conversation was geared towards Jordan (who is entering high school), Rick wanted to make sure she and all the children were aware of situations they may be put in. What to do in those situations and how to react. I am so grateful that my children have a dad who cares for them so much. A dad who wants them to BE PREPARED when situations arise. Dinner was followed by the yearly tradition of "father's blessings." What a comfort it is as a mom to sit and watch Rick give each child a blessing before school. Sending them off with that extra "protection" is so awesome!
Morning came and the craziness began! Breakfast was eaten
(and spilled on new clothes), clothes ironed, teeth brushed, lunches made, backpacks ready, and hair done! We had quite the assembly line in the bathroom going. I was curling Jordans hair and Jordan was straightening Paiges hair! Loved it!
My little Cody is going into first grade. We are so excited for him to be the super reader we know he can be! He has a fantastic teacher named Mrs. Gahan. We really lucked out! Both Paige and Chase had her for first grade as well....Chase is starting third grade. He too has a great teacher...Mrs. Dixon. But mostly he is excited because his best buddy, Colton, is in his class. What are the chances???? I'm happy they will be together! Paige is the head of the school as a fifth grader. She has three different teachers, which she thinks is great!!! She has Mrs. Nuttal, Reynolds, and the new guy teacher Mr. McAfee. She already thinks he is awesome after meeting him the other day at back to school night. 5th grade is a blast because she will get to go to Sky Ranch this year! Paige is going to have a great year!
My Jordan is off to the big High School....BOYD! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! Didn't I just get out of high school???? I'm so excited for her...she will have a blast! School doesn't start for her until 9:15, so it was nice that she got to be home with us this morning and go to the elementary school with me. She came down for breakfast and as I turned around I noticed she had gotten all the kids lunch boxes and started packing their lunches....I didn't even say a word. How great is she????!!!!!!! Jordan has this week before seminary starts next week....then back to early morning for her! After we dropped the kids off at school, it was time to take her....she was complaining of her shoes giving her blisters, so we ran home. I told her she should probably change shoes (she has a lot of walking to do...her school is HUGE!)

BUT - she said, no....I will just get lots of bandaids......Fashion before comfort I guess!!! :) As we pulled in front of the school, I was a little sad but also excited. Sad, my little girl is growing up, but excited for Jordan and the great journey she is about to begin! Out of the car she went....ready for a great day!
Its funny....when the kids are little and they are all home - you can't wait to have some alone time...(to get things done.) But when that time comes.... you wish you could go back to when they were all little.

Enjoying the Great Outdoors!

This past weekend found our family in beautiful Oklahoma. For a long time I have wanted to travel north to Turner Falls. A wonderful state park with lots of water, nature, beauty, and fun waterfalls. We were fortunate to have friends and family join us. The drive is north and is just under 2 hours. It was a great drive. We took the surburban which sometimes I love! The suburban doesn't have a movie screen in it, which forces the kids to talk, play, make up games, or just look out the window and enjoy the view! New technology can be a great thing, but sometimes I forget how much simpler life can be without it. AND how much more creative we get to be without it!:) Sometimes that is nice! Once we got to our exit for Turner Falls we were all excited to get out of the car and jump in the water. Yes, before we could jump in, I made everyone pose for some great pics and look at the view from up top. Jordans friend Heidi came with us! What a great sport to put up with me! We jumped back in the car to head to the entrance, drove down the hill, turned the corner, and saw cars, and more cars, and more cars. The line of cars just kept on going. We made our way to the end of the line and waited. It took about half an hour to get to the entrance. Wahoo we thought...we are almost in! Little did we know it would be another 30 minutes before we were actually in a parking spot. Word of advice....don't go on the weekend. Go during the week! The kids were starving, so we drug our cooler, blankets, and chairs to our own little "island" between streams and set up for some yummy lunch!The kids had a blast swimming and playing in the water. We stayed up at the top "swim hole" for awhile where the falls were, then traveled down to the bottom "swim hole" where a slide, diving board, and fun rocks were. Davey was a great sport, and didn't mind hauling a bunch of stuff AND Cody down the hill back to the car!


The slide was super fun. It was a metal slide and when it ended you shot off into the water. There was quite a drop off! Cody wasn't sure he wanted to try it, but once he did, he loved it! Mom and dad even tried it, yes - I must admit, it was super fun to be slung into the air and land on my behind in the water! Once the lifeguard was off duty, the kids were jumping, diving, twisting and turning off the lifeguard stand. Safe??? Probably not, but they were having a blast! Cody was giving Paige and Kristi a mud bath! Some people actually pay a lot of money for that! Wahoo, they will have super soft skin! Never mind they and their swimming suits will be permanently stained from the red clay.
The kids (and adults) had a great time playing games (not being competitive at all:) Rick, Troy, Davey, Jordan and Brayden had a blast. The goal was to catch the ball that was being thrown up into the air. They didn't care about catching it...just that someone else didn't catch it. After playing Davey noticed he didn't have his wedding ring on his finger anymore. Oh my gosh!!! I felt sick for him. We were in what looked like lake water, so very cloudy and merky. Rocks on the bottom with heavy clay.....there was no way we were going to find his ring. Davey put on some goggles, but couldn't really see anything. Rick was standing as the anchor (so they knew where they were) and Troy was sifting the ground with his hands. I went in and tried to feel with my feet...all I could feel was a ton of rocks. After thinking the time was going to come where Davey would have to tell Kristi he lost it.....Troy pops up with the ring in his hand....What are the chances????? I couldn't believe it! Just another example that the Lord really does hear and answer prayers!!!! Thanks family and friends for the day! I loved getting away and spending time with each other.

Leg ArmPit?????

I heard the cutest thing today and had to write it down somewhere, so what better place than my blog! So Chase, Cody, and I were on the way home from Chase's soccer practice tonight. Yes it was in the upper 90's, and Cody and I were pretty sweaty from sitting and watching Chase play soccer. We were driving home in the car, and out of nowhere I hear Cody say, "my let arm pit is sweaty!" I had to think about that for a minute and stop myself from completely laughing out loud. What a cute little guy!!! Don't you just love when your kids say such cute things! So to all of you who didn't know what the back of your knee was really called....it is officially your leg arm pit!!!!

Painting, Painting, Painting!!!

The highlight of last weekend was Paige's art "debut." She was in her very first "official" art show! We were able to attend the opening night of the "Shadows" show at the Laura Moore art studio/gallery. Paige was invited to have one of her paintings in the show. Artists ranged from 10 to 77. Yes, Paige was the youngest artist. It was quite the honor!!!! People and artists from all over were invited to attend. When we arrived the room was packed! Laura Moore was so kind and greeted Paige with a huge smile and hug. Paige was given a pin to wear that said, "shadows artist." So everyone would know that Paige had a painting in the show. Initially, I think her painting was going to be kind of off to the side, since she was so young, but when Laura hung all the art work, she put Paige's right in the middle of everything. She said it just fit! The show runs for 4 weeks, so I'm sure we will be back to see it a few times! A big thank you to our friends that came and supported Paige on her big night. It meant so much to her that you were there!Davey, your so awesome! You always make sure the kids know you love them and support all they do!! THANK YOU!The night wouldn't have been complete if Paige didn't have little Maddie there. (and Jon and Danielle too, of course:) Thanks for coming and celebrating with us afterwards!Kristi, since Paige was tiny you have continuously supported Paige in all she does...thank you for bringing your family to share the special night with Paige!
Our Aweseome neighbors, Doug and Jeannie were also there.....somehow they sneaked out before I got a picture of them...thanks for coming - you guys are so thoughtful!Paige, dad and I are so proud of you!!! Keep up the great work....we love your paintings and are so happy you have found something you LOVE to do!

MORE PAINTING........

Rick and I have been wanting to paint our room for awhile. For Mothers Day, Rick gave me a card that said he would paint the room for me. It has taken so long because I couldn't decide what color to do....isn't that always the problem???? I was first thinking about blue, but couldn't find just the right shade, then tan, but thought that might be a bit boring....finally Paige and I decided on green! I'm pretty sure I could have bought all the paint with the money I spent for the samples I bought! Poor Rick had to live with about 10 different samples on the wall for the past couple of weeks! As soon as the kids knew we were painting - they grabbed their brushes and were ready to go! They love writing their names on the wall and making designs! As much as I LOVE to have little helpers......we were ready to get the job done! The before picture!!!The after picture!!!! I think it looks great! Thanks Rick and kids for helping get the job done!!

COUSIN FUN!!!

COUSINS....COUSINS...COUSINS!!!!For the past week my nephews and niece from California have been visiting. The kids have LOVED having them here. We wish they lived closer. They all get along so well and play great together! For the past week we have been going back and forth from our house to grandma and grandpas house. They have lived in the pool at grandma and grandpas house! They would stay in ALL day if we would let them.
The boys were so excited to play lazer tag with darts, build forts, and play the wii....the girls did makeovers, danced in Jordans room, and partied like rockstars!!It was so cute walking in the room and seeing them dancing around...it doesn't matter if they were 14 or 5....they all had fun!

We decided to turn them into true TEXANS, so we went to the rodeo. On our way there, we stopped at Ricks friends fire station. His friend Blake was so nice. Showing the kids anything and everything they wanted to see. He even turned the lights on the fire truck and sounded the siren...LOUD!!!! All the firemen on duty we super nice and joined us for a picture. We had our own private tour...it was great!!! After the rodeo we had everyone sleep at our house, so the kids could go to church together. We have 8:30 (AM) church, so I never thought we would make it. Let me just say Rick, myself, and 7 kids all showered, had breakfast, and we were only 5 minutes late for church. I don't know how people do it that really have 7 kids of their own....WOW!!!!

This is what it is really like having counsins together!!!! Crazy, but super fun! Thanks Bloomfields....we had a great time with you. Can't wait until next time!