First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for Kathleen and Brandon now too. Brandon started Kindergarten and loved every minute of it. Yes, they dressed themselves. And yes, Cody's shirt is on backwards.

Brandon got to ride the bus for the first time.

So I drove to school to meet him there.

Kathleen's home.

Cody got fettuccini alfredo all over his face, hair, and table and chair. All Kathleen wanted for dinner was shrimp on her first day of school.

Ryan and I made salsa. Here it is in the pico de gallo state.

Day two of school. They are ready.

The kids were so excited for school that they were all ready 30 minutes before the bus was to come and couldn't wait to go to the bus stop. The best part of the day was when Brandon came home. They told me the bus would drop him off in front of the house, but they dropped him off at the end of our street. When I saw the bus, I started running down the street to meet him. He got off, saw me and started running toward me with the biggest grin on his face. When he got to me, he jumped up (amazingly avoiding collision with any major organs) into my arms and gave me the biggest hug ever. Later he said, "Mom, I just love school."

When we were at the zoo last week we had our pictures taken in a photo booth. The kids thought it was pretty exciting.

Here is the work Brandon brought home from his first day of school. Pretty cute.

Soccer

I know, there are a billion pictures every time I post. I really should update more often, then I wouldn't have this problem. Or I could stop taking so many pictures. But I love my new camera, so it has just gotten worse. Well, here they are. I made some soup and bread bowls and it actually turned out really good (which is crazy since I didn't have a recipe and just used what we had). We went to the zoo this week and got there before it opened so we walked through the rose gardens. The kids loved throwing coins in the fountain and making a wish. Brandon wished he could be nicer. I agreed. Kathleen wished that all the spirits in heaven could be resurrected just like Jesus. I decided not to tell them not to say their wishes because I so enjoyed them telling me what they wished for, even though I didn't ask.

I guess this was the only picture I took at the zoo. Great.

We went to Kathleen's old school to geocache and picnic and fly kites with Spring. This is the only picture I got of that event too.

We went to the fair this week too. I know, I know, another busy but fun week. Cody fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed that way for quite a while.

I remember when I was a kid and how we would whine and cry when we had to go look at the animals. Not my kids. They LOVE animals. They seemed to like that more than even the rides and elephant ears. and not once did they complain that the didn't get all they ever wanted like we did as kids. I was so proud of them. Cody couldn't help hugging all the animals and saying, "Mom, he loves me." Or "Mom, the cow loves me." Or "Mom, the horse loves me." I guess he has a good relationship with all the animals.

Brandon likes to watch TV while snuggling IN the couch.

Cody:

Soccer games started on Saturday. Ryan is coaching Brandon's team. They were all so cute.

Kathleen got to be a goalie for part of the game. She was really good and had an amazing save. She also scored a goal at one point. She is definitely better than she was last year.

Cute coach Ryan:

Brandon is an amazing little soccer player. Generally at his age, the kids still don't quite get soccer, so it is really weird that Brandon does. He gets that ball, and there is no stopping him.

I really enjoyed watching cute little Sam run onto the field when he got the chance. I don't think Michelle enjoyed it as much, but that Sammy is so cute.

Cute church-ready kids:

Marc and Suzy

Ryan and I had a great time watching the meteor shower the other night. We put the kids to bed, then laid out on the trampoline and had a nice evening watching some of the most amazing meteors I have ever seen. I didn't take any pictures of it, but I found this one online and thought it looked just like what we saw, so I am posting it. Ryan turned 1 billion seconds old on August 13th at 3:16 and 40 seconds in the morning. Yeah, I know. But we had a little party with some friends and got him a silly "birthsecond" gift.

Marc, Suzy, Emily, and Carter came to visit last weekend. It was so much fun to see them. We do have a tendency to harass Marc a little too much, but we love them and miss living near them.

We went to a park:

For some reason our pumpkins quit growing and turned orange. I am not sure why that happened, but we picked them and new ones are growing now. Crazy.

The Hawks have a tradition that one of the baseball payers reads a story to the kids before the Tuesday night games. It was so fun, and a pretty cute story.

The kids have been begging to stay up with mom and dad instead of going to bed. So we told them they could earn a movie night. Well, they did. They worked hard and did some grueling chores (toilet cleaning was involved). So we ate caramel popcorn, watched Ghostbusters and slept together in the family room. All after bedtime.

We went to Cascade Lake this weekend to explore where girl's camp will be next year. On the way there, the kids got car sick and Brandon threw up all over everything (at his feet were all the kids blankets and pillows). So we pulled over to clean Brandon up as he continued to throw up out the side of the van. Then Kathleen got up and started puking out her side of the van.

It was like puke shooting everywhere. But at least none ended up in the van. Just on all of Brandon's clothes and the kids blankets. Luckily Ryan's boss has a cabin there and let us do laundry. Thanks Justin, you're a lifesaver.

Kathleen and her personality:

Kathleen and Cody were playing so cute on the edge of the tile the other day.

Sometimes boys like to do their hair too.

My sister-in-law sent me this picture and I though it was pretty funny. Go Sox!

Kathleen drew this picture for Cody. I thought it was really good for a 7-year-old.