Kindergartner

It has finally arrived!!! Amy went to Kindergarten today. It is so hard to wait a whole week for it to start since her big sister has been to school all last week. We had a count down going and the day finally arrived. Amy woke up this morning asking when it would be time to leave for school, this continued almost every 10 minutes until it was time to get ready. I was so happy that she was so excited about going to school. The first days of preschool did not go smoothly for my sensitive little girl. There were big huge tears and screams when it was time for me to leave. Those are hard moments for moms, and I was really hoping that kindergarten did not start off this way. THANK HEAVENS IT DID NOT!! We really prepped Amy for this day starting a few weeks ago when I started to notice signs of her anxiety. We talked about what would happen, my mom talked to her about what would happen, and her sister told her all the cool things that you can do at school. The prep work paid off. No tears and lots of smiles. She even rode the bus for the first time today without a hitch. That was my anxiety. I was really nervous that she would miss the bus, or not even get on because she was too scared. Heidi met Amy at her classroom and took her right to the bus and she loved it. Yeah for big sister Heidi being there to help out.

We are so proud of Amy. She is so smart, sweet, fun, loves to laugh and giggle. Her art work is amazing. I do think we have an artistic child on our hands!! She loves colors. Hence her backpack. When she saw it at the store, I knew that was the backpack for her!! One funny thing I noticed when I dropped Amy off at school, she is one tall little girl. There was a girl there that was also being dropped off at the same time as Amy, and Amy had, no joke, at least 6 inches on the kid!! It was really funny to see. On one hand it is hard in some ways to see your kids grow up so quickly, but on the other hand, YIPPEE!!! We love you so much Amy. Congrats on starting school. You will be amazing.

My big kindergartener!!
Her amazing and colorful backpack. Perfect for Amy.

Beautiful!

Second Grader

We have a second grader!! Hard to believe this little girl is becoming so big!! She was really excited to start at a new school this year. She had already made new friends in the neighborhood and was looking forward to playing with them at school. She also said that she knew that she would do well at school because she received a fathers blessing from her Dad, and the blessing said so, so she was not scared at all. She has a great 2nd grade teacher that she loves. We are so proud of Heidi and all that she wants to do. She loves to read and learn new things. She is really starting to like math too!! I am always so impressed with how easy it is for her to make new friends. She has such a fun personality and loves to run, laugh and help others. I love this little (not!) girls so much. I couldn't be prouder of her.

The second grader ready to take on the new year.

All new clothes that she insisted on wear, of course.

Heidi is taking the bus this year to school. It is great because we walk out our back door and walk half a block to the bus stop. I love it!! This is Heidi, Amy and I walking to the bus stop for the first time. Eric took this picture from out deck. You can see the kids at the corner for the bus stop.

Need a Machanic?

This little guys is available. He works cheap. His pay is a sippy cup of chocolate milk and a kiss on his cute little cheeks. It must be a small job, he is very busy!! One added benefit, you will smile and laugh the whole time.

She did it!

We have tried to convince Amy to ride her bike without training wheels all summer. She has refused. (she is just a bit stubborn, I think she gets it from her father ;)). Well the other day she just decided to ride her bike and off she went. Eric didn't even have to help her too much. She just needed help starting. She is doing awesome!! All she wants to do now is ride her bike. This morning that was the first thing she asked to do. She made the statement that her scooter is no fun, it doesn't go fast enough. So funny!! She is growing up. I just am having a hard time realizing that she will be in Kindergarten in two weeks. Where does the time go???

My two big girls on bikes. They have so much fun riding them together now.

Fun at the Park for FHE

We had a really fun time in the park for FHE the other night. I had fun taking the pictures. The sun was just right and the kids were having fun, even Eric got into the fun. We love it!!

Oregon or Bust

We had a great time in Oregon with my sister Stacey and her family. She lives in a beautiful area called Bend, and it has the Deschutes river running right through it. It is gorgeous!! We started off driving with my parents to Boise and spending the night there. It was nice to let the kids get out and swim and play. Alex really hated being in his car seat for that long. The next morning with left Boise and headed west to Bend. Unfortunately, on the way there, Alex threw up. It was awful!! The poor kid didn't understand what was happening and just sat there not sure what to do. Well, we cleaned him up and off we went as quickly as we could. We made it to Stacey that evening and she made a great dinner for us, and the cousins got to play together. Then, it went downhill from there!! Kelly was the next to get sick on Monday, then Amy, then Heidi, then Eric, then my Dad, then me. It was an awful 24 hours, let me tell you. The next day was very low key with me sitting in the living room trying to survive. My poor sister, what a way to welcome us in her home. She was so awesome and so calm during the whole thing. Unfortunately, her family got hit next with her son Kael and then her husband Adam. I am not sure we will be welcomed back to her house, ever again!!! (And I wouldn't blame her one bit!). While Stacey was taking care of Kael, we were feeling really good, so we took the kids down to the river for a fun hike. It was just so picturesque there with the pine trees, the sound of the river flowing down, the chipmunks. We had a nice time. Eric and Alex with the Deschute river behind them.
We made it out of the house, YEAH!!!

The cute cousins. Don't they look awesome???

Kelly, loved to just sit and drink her water. She was always too tired to walk.

We wore Alex out on the hike!! Cute!



After the hike, we actually started our vacation. We drove up past Sister OR, and went to a fish hatchery there. The kids really loved watching all the trout swimming everywhere. Alex and Kelly LOVED feeding the fish. It was really cool too. You would throw in this little piece of fish food and the trout would go crazy!!! Jumping out of the water, fighting each other over a piece. Alex loved watching the fish. He would do a little dance afterward.

My mom, Alex and Amy.

Heidi and Amy. They have grown up so quickly. So hard to believe!!

Alex, the explorer.

The next day everyone was feeling better. Thank heavens!! We went to this really neat cave just outside of Bend that was made out of lava. It just went straight back for a few miles. The park rangers give you lanterns and off you go. No guides or anything. It was fun. Alex and Kelly really liked it going in, but were ready to get out NOW!!! Eric had Alex in the back pack and he took off, I had Kelly in my arms and I just kept going. Their cries were echoing in the caves. NICE!

The cave explorers.

Kelly loved jumping around and hearing her echoes in the caves. This was going into the cave.

At the near end of the cave. The bigger kids were the only ones that could go on. It was just too small for us to carry the little ones through without a huge struggle.

Later this day my really good friend Jen Ward and her two pretty girls came and visited us. Jen and I grew up together in Maryland and now she lives in Oregon on the coast. She drove two hour out to see us, and I was so grateful that she was willing to do this. We had a nice BBQ with her and the girls. All the kids just played and had fun. The next day we went to a park so the kids could play and we could talk. It was just perfect to catch up and see her. Thanks Jen for coming out to see us!! (of course I forgot to take pictures this whole time, UGH!!)

That night the girls, Stacey, Mom and Myself, were able to go out to eat at a restaurant, YEAH!! and then we saw Harry Potter while the boys took care of the kids. That was so nice. It was so nice to have grown up talk with my mom and sister without interruption for a child. Plus, seeing movie without kids in a movie theater??? PRICELESS!!

This was our last day in Bend. Here is a cute picture with grandpa and the kids.




On the way home, we stopped in Nampa, ID for a Foster Family reunion. My wonderful cousin Liz and her husband Brian hosted this get together in their backyard. I was able to catch up with cousins that I had not seen in years. It is so surreal to see your cousins all grown up, with teenager kids and older, most of them are grandparents now, and I am just getting started. But, I still felt like a teenager around them, like nothing had changed. I guess that is how family is, you pick up right where you left off!!

My cousin Lanette and her husband Dave. And her nephew, my other cousin Larry's kid.

Eric, Alex, My dad, My cousin John and my cousin Shar.






All in all, we had a great time there. I love spending time with my family and just being with them, in sickness and in health. Thanks Stacey for a great time. Next time, you come here and stay with us. You can even throw up, and I won't mind!!