Back to School

The kids started school this week. They were all excited to head back, however we all agreed summer went way to fast. This year I have three in school. They are getting bigger, but they are still my babies. I'm glad they each like school and that they look out for each other while they are there.

On the Friday before school started we found out Landon and Mason weren't going to continue in a 3/4 split class. Instead they would move up to a 4/5 split class. This change brought on a new teacher for them, one who typically teaches 5th grade. All of the sudden they seem like thea big kids on campus. Where did the time go?

Here Mason has found his desk.

Landon was excited to find his desk next to a good friend from last year.

The boys were also asked to be "greeters" this year. It is a program at our school, where a group of students greet fellow students and parents each morning and after school. Landon and Mason love this kind of stuff. Their spot is the front of the school. On the first day I went along with them. I had to keep reminding them that they didn't need to have a long conversation with each person that came by. They are funny boys with always something to talk about.

Below is Landon greeting.

Landon doing a back to school pose.

Lydia has been counting the days until she would start school. She was all smiles on the first day of school. We are excited for her, but we hate to see her grow up so fast.

We have a little in with one of the Kindergarten teachers at the school. She happens to be Grandma! It's nice to know Grandma is just down the hall from Lydia, and that she can keep tabs on her. Lydia's teacher Miss. Karow was mentored by Grandma last year.

We live by several kids that are going to Kindergarten this year. So catching the bus with some of Lydia's friends is so much fun.

There she goes. How fun it is to be 5!I was one of those funny moms that went to the school to see her get off the bus.

Lydia's in a large class this year with 2 times as many boys than girls. I took this picture and realized I didn't have one girl in it. I don't think she will notice the small number of girls in her class, she is pretty use to boys.

Finally, I'll let her go.

Last Few Weeks of Summer

School starts tomorrow morning and we all have mixed feelings about starting up again. It has been a great summer and we have enjoyed spending time together as a family. Here is how we have been spending our last few weeks.

A few weeks ago we took a ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston. This particular Saturday was very warm so the cool breeze on the Sound felt heavenly.

Zeke had a Birthday!!!

He even had a Chocolate Zucchini Cake for his birthday cake.


We finished up our last session of swimming lessons. All three of the kids improved their skills. The boys got their side breathing down and Lydia swam the length of the pool all by herself. It was very exciting!




We spent time at Lake Tapps. My parents live on a small island on a lake, and we love spending time with them on the lake.







They have a nice neighbor that lets us borrow her paddle boat and kayaks. The boys particularly love the paddle boat.
For Labor Day Weekend we went to Cannon Beach, Oregon with the Beaird Family. We had a relaxing weekend playing with them and enjoying the beauty of the Oregon coast.

Jacob loves to play outside. The beach was heaven to him. The Dads and older boys played football on the beach most of the time.

They are all crazy about football!
The weather was perfect for kite flying. We just wished the breeze was a little warmer.
Landon is always up for a pose. He's pretty proud of this one.


The kids seemed to not notice how cold the water was.

When the tide is low, it's fun to get up close and personal with the fish wildlife.
Cannon Beach is one of my favorite places to go.
One day we went into Seaside. What a crazy group.

To celebrate our official last day of summer (Tuesday) we went to the Zoo with the Hatch family. Most schools in Seattle start on the Tuesday after Labor Day, however our district doesn't start until Wednesday. So it's the perfect no crowd day to go to the Zoo.

The weather was perfect and the animals were very entertaining.
We love the Woodland Park Zoo. They are always adding new stuff. This year it was the Pink Flamingo exhibit. We learned an interesting fact about the Flamingos. The reason they are pink is because they eat so much shrimp. Isn't that crazy!

Sleeping Out

The kids were excited to sleep outside on the trampoline for the first time. It was the perfect summer night.

After settling into bed, I questioned if they had brushed their teeth. With all the excitement, they hadn't (surprise, surprise). Moments later I hear the squeals of excitement "the tooth fairy is coming tonight". Lyida had brushed so hard, she lost her first tooth. Would the tooth fairy find her tooth on the trampoline, or would it bounce off?
Sure enough the tooth fairy found Lydia's tooth under her pillow.

Lydia's proud of her new toothless grin and mom is sad she is losing teeth so early.

Summer Fun!

It has been a great summer thus far.

We began the summer by celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary. It was a perfect night on Alki Beach in Seattle. A great way to spend an evening together.

We ate seafood at Saltys and then walked along the shore, and enjoyed the sunset and city lights.

We also began the summer by putting our swingset on Craigslist. In just a few hours we had over 40 offers. We ended up selling it to a foster care family.

The kids enjoyed a few final ours on it before we said good bye.

Then we replaced it with a trampoline. Wohooo!

The boys spent a week going to Cub Day camp. Our den does a 4 day camp 7 hours each day. I went one of the 4 days. It was fun to spend the day with Landon and Mason, they love cub scouts! Here they are panning for gold at one of the many fun stations.


During Cub Day Camp Lydia participate in a Gymnastics Camp with a few friends. She had a great time, and I was able to get a few things done for girls camp.

It was also time for Jacob's first hair cut. He's hair seemed to have grown over night, and we were getting worried that he was starting to look like a little girl. So I splurged and took him to a "Kids Cut" salon. I never did this with my other children, but he's my baby. He was a little nervous getting his hair cut, but overall did fine.

It was a baby make over:

BEFORE

AFTER

Landon and Mason got their hair cut right before at HairMasters.

Don't they all look great?

We have also spent a lot of time at the lake this summer. The kids love jumping off the dock as much as they do swimming in the pool. However, Jacob started the summer not so sure about any of it.

The Findlays came to town for a week. The cousins can not get enough of each other. They spent the majority of the time in swimming suits together either playing at the lake, or pool. This year we also spent a day at Wild Waves.

The big kids love to always have a lemonade stand. Since my parents live on a golf course, they do well. This year I think they made around $25, in a few hours. They think they should do it everyday.
Lydia and Jack gave up life jackets together and became really good swimmers.

They spent hours swimming together.

Lydia loved being thrown by either her dad, Uncle Chris or Grandpa.

After being the spectator to all the swimming Jacob, got into the action.

He now loves the water!


Last week was girls camp. I am the Stake Girls Camp Director. This was my second year being the director and things went very well. It's great to go and see all the work you have put in over the past year, come together. My parents and a few friends helped me out with my kids while I was gone. It's amazing how much work and sacrifice goes into a week like this, but it is so good for those Young Women (and the leaders have a little fun as well).

My least favorite thing about being the director is coming up with a Stake Skit. We have a new stake YW president that is creative and she threw together a skit. We practiced right before and wouldn't you know, it was a hit. I went completely out of character (it's okay when you are a camp) and pretty much acted like a child (I had a little inspiration from a few of my own children) and played the role of Miss Whimper and Wine.

Let just say I think I shocked a few...
The day after camp was our nieghborhood social. It's a kid heaven! All you can eat cotton candy, and popcorn. A few boucing rides and a dunk tank.

We were suprised when Mason and Landon appeared in the dunking tank.

However we were SHOCKED when Lydia got up. And guess who throw her in?

LANDON!

One major milestone this summer was Jacob started to walk! He was a late walker, and we were starting to wonder about his stubborness, but on his 15 month birthday, he realized it wasn't so bad. Now our sweet boy is EVERYWHERE!