Back to School

I was expecting to be heartbroken when school finally started, but there is so much work and anticipation getting ready that I was happy when it was finally here.  Sawyer started full day kindergarten this year.  I know I am going to really miss my quiet afternoons with him (when everyone else is napping), but I am also so proud to see him grow up.  He did not want to go to school.  None of us wanted the summer to end.  At meet the teacher night though he said, "After seeing my classroom and meeting my teacher, I am ready to go to school right now!"

It was Sawyer's birthday on the first day of school.  It's was truthfully pretty sad because it was just too much for a 6 year old on one day.  At the end of the day, he even said that, "I like my teacher and I like my class, but it was tooo much for me (said in an exhausted small child voice)."  Sawyer's
 teacher is Mrs. Howell.

Beau rocked his first day of school.  There was no looking back.  His best friend from the past two years, Logan, is not at school this year (though a month later he started showing up at childcare at the gym.  YEAH!).   I'm sure Beau will have no problem finding new friends.  Beau's teachers are Miss Jennifer and Miss Stacy and he just goes to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Now Paul is going one day a week.  Its completely for me.  This momma needed a day off from this loving but incredibly demanding baby.  He had highs and lows throughout the day according to his teacher, overall did well, and was super happy once I picked him up.  He doesn't appear to be traumatized so I think I will keep the mommy's day out.  He continues to be super clingy to me, so I am hoping school will help. 

Sawyer's 6th Birthday

Sawyer turned SIX this year!  I let him plan his birthday party.  He wanted a ninja party with a "bag of burgers" from Braums.  I let him invite whomever he wished and he had a surprisingly short list.  I was worried there wouldn't be many kids there and was tempted to sneak out a few more invitations, but I respected his wishes and it turned out to be the perfect amount of kids.  We played some ninja games, then had burgers, cake and opened presents.  It was a very enjoyable birthday party and the right amount of activity for this sweet six year old boy.

Sawyer's actual birthday was the first day of school.  It was a little crazy.  I got up really early to make him birthday waffles.  We then started the school routine.  Ugh.  I brought him donuts to share at snack time.  After school I let him pick an activity.  We went to the Wondertorium.  After the Wondertorium we met up with Daddy, Grammy and Grandpa at Joes.  After Joes we went home to eat a lemon cake, icecream, and open up presents.  Let's just say we were all exhausted.  It was a long day.

 The pictures below were taken on the last night that Sawyer would ever be five.  At six, Sawyer is still one of the most inquisitive people on the planet.  He never, ever stops asking questions.  The more tired he gets, the more questions he asks until he is mumbling questions without thinking.  It is actually halfway hilarious, halfway annoying.  He absolutely can not be excluded from adult conversation.  Whether I'm talking to Clint, on the phone, other mom's at playgroup, park, wherever, he has to be part of the conversation.  He also absolutely can not be excluded from the reading of a book.  If we are ever reading to his brothers he has to be a part of it.  He's like a moth to the light. 

He is soooo bright.  He loves to ride his bike, his scooter, play board games, legos, blocks, watch TV, read books, cook, dig in the dirt and craft.  He is a total homebody and often is heard saying ''Why do you make me leave the house.''  Beau brings him so much joy and laughter.  The two blend perfectly together (at this age).  He treats his younger brothers with so much love and kindness.  He still loves his blankies, and always has at least one stuffed animal in his bed.  He is a self proclaimed hoarder because he ''loves his treasures''.  His favorite food is burgers and he refuses to touch eggs or cheese.  He overall is a good, healthy eater.  He is sensitive, helpful, kind, conscientious and calm.  He can get grumpy and emotionally demanding of me, but he never acts out (just lots and lots of whining).  He is becoming more independent, but truly loves being with his family.  We have been so blessed by this brilliant, sweet companion.  He really is my companion because he rarely leaves my side and wants me to be talking to him all the time. 

Branson, MO

August 2014, two weeks before school started, my mom decided we needed a family vacation and took us all on a trip to Branson, MO.  With so many people and so many little kids there were definitely some highs and lows.  Our little family overall fared very well.

The itinerary included an early departure to Silver Dollar City.  Then dinner after the park closes (always destined to be a disaster with 14 kids and 10 adults, none of which have had a nap).  Rooms at Castlerock hotel.  It is one of the hotels with an indoor water park.  Swimming all day on Sunday, then heading home.  Here are some of our highs and lows:

Low: The traffic.  It was everywhere.  In fact I think we may have picked the busiest weekend to go to Branson.

High: The rides.  We didn't do very many, but the kids loved them.

Low:  The rides.  While they said they loved the rides after we were done, they cried the entire time we were on them.

Low: Waiting in line for an hour (with 4 kids and no other adults) to be the next on the ride and it gets shut down due to lighting.

High:  Running through torrential rain with 4 kids.  They loved it!

High:  A thunderstorm rolled through the park shutting down the rides.  After the rain stopped the park was cleared out and we had several hours to enjoy the quiet park.

High:  People watching of course.

 
Low:  People watching.  It was a disturbing cross section of humanity.

Low:  The food.  I just didn't get enough time to try all the fried, homestyle goodness.

High:  I wasn't hungry.  Might be a first.  Or the Lumberjack skillet.  Or the icecream.

High:  Because of the rain we got free tickets to come back.

Low:  Going back by Christmas (our tickets may go to waste.)

High:  Spending that time with my nieces and nephews, sisters, brother-in-laws, and parents.

Low:  Going to the amusement park with 14 children under the age of 10.  In fact my mom took off with my baby, our phones, and our money for over an hour. 

Low:  Paul breaking my sunglasses.

High:  Realizing later they weren't my sunglasses because I had my sunglasses.  So Paul broke a total strangers sunglasses.

High:  Adult beverages in the hotel room and hotel hall as the kids were sleeping.

High:  Waking up and having food an amusement for the kids without leaving.  It was actually really relaxing to get to the water park with minimal preparation.

 

 

Low:  The drive home.  Many, many bathroom breaks.  Clint spilling his grande starbucks in my new car.  Beau having a fever.  Lots of crying from pure exhaustion.  Clint asked what happened to the car when we got home.  I told him, "I may have been throwing food at them just to get them to shut up."

Overall I love themed amusement parks.  I love water parks.  I love my family.  It is definitely not as magical in one sense being the parent and trying to keep it together (Clint was incredibly cranky because he couldn't eat the food).  On the other hand it was so special to see it though the eyes of my children, nieces, and nephews.

The Garden

 This year we decided to put in a garden.  By we, this meant mostly me.  We don't have much sun (we'll gladly take the trees), so we put a single large raised bed off our terraced back porch.  I had the dirt delivered and the boys thought this was the Best Thing Ever!

It was a poorly planned garden and I ended up neglecting it much of the summer.  But we got a pretty decent yield.  We had cucumbers coming out our ears, nice eggplant, okra, a few tomatoes (but our next door neighbor had hundreds, they even started growing over the fence in our yard), cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and herbs.  By the end of the summer we were pickle making fools with our cucumbers.