Locker Decorations

Lockers weren't decorated when I was growing up. Or maybe they were, I was just too oblivious. 

Taneal got this idea to decorate her locker in 6th grade. And of course now that Camie is in middle school with a locker to call her own, she wanted it decorated. We even made a special trip (or three) to the store getting all the flowers and supplies to personalize her space. She put all those decorations into place at orientation.

And of course the mastermind to the decorations. Had to get a picture of Taneal's decorated locker too. And this is her last year in middle school. She's even starting to look like a teenager!

Back to School 2013

Back to school always come too soon. We weren't done playing. We weren't done having lazy days, I'm not sure we had any lazy days. And I wanted them. But school still came and as much as I wasn't ready, most of them were.

Nathan was really excited. He started kindergarten and got the same teacher that Spencer had last year and that Camie had when she was in kindergarten. We knew he was going to love kindergarten and so that made Nathan very excited.

 Plus, he got a cool new pair of shoes. And a really cool shirt. 

Danielle got the teacher Camie had when she was in 4th. Danielle is a funny girl. She is good with whatever. She would have been fine continuing summer or going to school. Whatever, she was good with either. She did like the new shoes she got. And the new clothes. You have to go to school sometime, so why worry about it. 

Camie finished elementary school and headed to the middle school. She is happy to be doing off-campus PE which allows her to take art in addition to orchestra. So this year is a success before it even starts.

Spencer couldn't wait for summer vacation to be over. He liked all the activities, but school. That is where his true love is. Spencer LOVES school. He loves that he is the smartest. And loves that he is the fastest. And I love that he thinks that. He got the teacher that Danielle had when she was in 1st, so we knew he would have a good year. He teacher is very kind, quiet, and really loves the children.

Taneal was excited for the new clothes and shoes and to find out what her schedule was, but not the actual part of going back to school. She liked our summer and all the fun we had. And she liked her lazy days of sleeping in and watching movies. School is hard work and takes a lot of time and she just wasn't ready to go back.

Gavin would have nothing to do with being left out. He wanted to go back to school and be a part of everything. He wore his new shirt. I didn't buy him new shoes. But he had to wear socks, just like everyone else. With his flip flops.

These are my elementary school kids getting ready for the ride to school.

And after the ride to school.

Nathan in his classroom at his desk. See? He didn't care about me. He was excited to be there and ready to go to work. I was so glad. It would have been so hard if he hadn't wanted to go. If he had started crying, I probably would have taken him right back home with me and waited until next year. He has only been 5 for 2 weeks, so he is really young. Thankfully he was more mature than me and glad to be there. 

Yes, I was the only parent all sweaty and in workout clothes with no makeup. I ran along side my kids riding their bikes. In the HOT, HUMID weather. 

After Nathan, I went to Spencer's classroom to check on him and make sure he made it there. Of course he made it there. But still. And of course he was happy. Why do I worry?

Danielle barely stopped long enough for me to take this picture. She didn't really want to mess with having mom there. There was too much to do and too much to see. Too many new friends.

I ran back home (literally) barely in enough time to take my middle schoolers to school. With Camie now going to middle school, Taneal can't take her time. Camie is very prompt and will probably NEVER be late. Taneal, she didn't mind being late as long as she didn't have enough tardies to cause detention. Because how your hair and clothes look is way more important than being on time. I love that my two girls are the way that they are, but it's just so interesting that they are so completely different. They always have been and hopefully they always will be.

Taneal looked at the picture I took on my camera and said it wasn't very good and could I please take another picture. Here is the one she approved of. The other one, she won't be happy I posted it.

Nathan Turns 5

My little boy is now 5 and old enough to go to kindergarten. And I feel it is right to send him. Oh, I wish I could have another year home with him. But I will follow my promptings and let him go.

He turned 5 mid August. And he had a great friend party followed by family over for more birthday cake. I opted a Costco cake after two days of friend parties.

Nathan is such a wonderful little boy. He is thoughtful, considerate, quiet, and helpful. He has bigm round hazel eyes. He is very smart and always watching. He is starting to outgrow throwing fits, thankfully.

I asked Nathan the following questions:

What is your favorite color? red

What is your favorite show? Wild Kratts

Who is your best friend? Matthew

What do you want to be when you grow up? What Eric is. An accountant

Who is your favorite aunt? Aunt Karen. Because she paints faces.

Who is your favorite Uncle? Uncle Rob.

What is your favorite food? carrots

If you could only have one thing from your room, what would it be? my stuffed animals

What is your favorite game? Lego Star Wars

If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go? To the store to buy stuff for my dog.

What is your favorite animal? Lobsters. But not to eat them. Because they can snap.

Who is your favorite super hero? Green Lantern

What is something you do really well? Read. Run. Swim.

What is something you aren't good at? Riding my bike

What is something you want to be really good at? Doing the dishwasher.

Tell me something about yourself: I like birds. I like bounce houses. I like to play outside in the backyard. I get to see ducks and chickens in kindergarten.

Spencer's a Snaggle Tooth

Spencer's first front tooth was joyfully knocked out by my brother Rob. Rob just helped the process along.  And afterwards, Spencer was thankful.

Spencer has been working on the next front tooth for several weeks now and finally this morning, he proudly walked into my room to announce his bloody mess and his new tooth missing. 

He is very proud.

2 Year-Old Blows up Balloon

What two year-old do you know that can blow up a balloon? I know one. Gavin!

Nathan's birthday Party

Last year was supposed to be Nathan's year for a birthday party, but same as for Danielle, we were traveling. So Nathan got his friend party this year. And we had so much fun planning it.

We chose the Wild Kratts theme. There is nothing out there to buy that is Wild Kratts. Which meant I had to come up with everything one my own, which is good. It allows my creative juices to flow, which brings me happiness. Plus, I have Pinterest as my friend and also Taneal, who has probably more creative juices than I do. I just know how to take those ideas and make it happen.

I started out with this really cool invitation that was so much fun to design.

My sister-in-law came back over to do more face painting. She was such a trooper to do it two days in a row. But also a good way to knock out birthday parties. Get it all done at once. One shopping trip. All good.

We added a few animal print balloons to Danielle's art party decorations.

I made all the kids "creature power suits." You'll have to watch the PBS show to understand just how cool these are. The kids LOVED them. And they were simple. Made from black felt, I traced a t-shirt with a white crayon. Basically the shape of a sleeveless t-shirt. Cut them all out, sewed at the shoulders and up the sides. That simple. Taneal cut out the colored shapes to go on the fron and I hot glued them.

We made bever lodges from pretzels and mud colored frosting. I put a bunch of pretzels on a plate and gave each child a bag of the frosting and let them create. Boys really just don't like to create like girls. I expected this activity to take a good 20 minutes. They were done in less than 5. Oops. I'm just used to girls/

The report back from all the kids was that they really enjoyed making the bever lodges. 

We also played catch the cheetah. And firefly says. After each activity, they got a creature power disk, which was a laminated piece of card-stock I printed on.

Camie made the cake. Oh, how I love my Camie and her talent. Having my girls help with these parties makes throwing them so much easier. And they have fun helping me.

Karen painting faces again. So glad to have her living close.

The kids had a great time and Nathan loved his party. 

Summer Swimming

School starts next week and I realized our time at the pool is just about over. And not once did I take any pictures! So I grabbed my phone out of my bag and snapped away. Only problem was Taneal was babysitting so she wasn't there. She got a job babysitting this summer three times a week for 2 hours. It has been a great teaching experience for Taneal. We have been thankful for that opportunity.

Here is my little fish. Swim team did wonders for him. He swims everywhere and under water mostly. Kind of scarry when you do a quick check and can't find him anywhere only to discover he has been under the water for a LONG time. Not sure how he can hold his breath for that long. 

Spencer loves the pool. He is a great swimmer too and had a great time playing in the water all summer.

Camie too. I guess I could say the same thing for all my children because they all swim well and love, love, love spending time at the pool.

And I apply ample sunscreen and take precaution so I don't curse their future with skin cancer.

We showed up at our neighborhood pool and my nephew was the lifeguard. How fun to have Austin there!

Gavin being moody. He seriously loves the water but was in need of a nap when I was taking these pictures.

Danielle trying to do a weird pose for the camera. Classic for Danielle.