A Piece of Cake!

Hayden slept great last night.
No Nerves kept this kid awake.

He got showered and dressed, ate Breakfast,
and smiled for the "First Day of School" photo.

I decided to drive him to school for his first day.
This is what it looked like outside... Ugh!!!
The Rain finally stopped.
We got to school and waited for his teacher to come out.
While waiting, he posed for a few more
"First Day of School" pictures.
His teacher, Mrs. Gaither, never came out,
so he walked himself in.

12:02 pm,
I met the bus carrying my little boy
that is now a KINDERGARTNER.

He had a great day!!
He even got a Cupcake
because his first day of Kindergarten
was a "piece of cake."
Easy!!!

First Day of School!!

Kenzie is an 8th grader.
She got up early and looked darling.
We took her picture and she was out the door...
to return a few minutes later shouting...
"I missed the bus!"
Aaron drove her to the next bus stop
so she could enter the school with a friend.
She had a great day!!
She is so easy.

Mackay panicked all night and all morning.

He didn't get up early (which is not normal for him).
He cried and whined - scared to start the 3rd grade.
He finally got dressed, ate, and said prayers.
We began walking him to the bus stop.
Half way up the bus path, he told us
"it was okay if we didn't want to come to the bus stop,
he was okay now."
What? Are we embarrassing???
He too had a great day.
He has Miss Jacobs.
He has had homework every night
as well as Football Practice.
It is going to be a long few months.

Hayden met his teacher, Mrs. Gaither, on Monday.

He was thrilled.
I filled out paper work while she tested some of his skills.
She would explain that she wanted him to ...
tell her the names of the letters.
She'd ask if he had any questions.
He would say no.
She would set the timer and say "Begin"
only to have Hayden say ...
"so, you want me to say the names of all the letters?"
"Yes, the names."
She would restart the timer and say "Begin."
They repeated this routine with the
letter sounds, numbers, and site words.
He didn't have any questions until the timer was set -
and then he had a few.
I was cracking up at the mother's table.
Can't wait to take him Monday morning.
I am even more excited to send him
on the BUS on Tuesday.
Should be interesting!!

Vacation Part 4

Our Five Day Cruise

The Boat: The Carnival Triumph
We loved the ship. It was fancy and elegant.
Aaron and I had a cabin with a balcony.
View from the Balcony.
Hayden and I saw this rainbow one day
while sitting on the balcony.
He was sure it was Grandma Kathy telling us to
"have fun and that Jesus was taking good care of her."
So Sweet!
The kids were across the hall.
It had a water slide that the boys LOVED!!
And an Arcade to keep them busy.
even Aaron...
The Shows weren't great, but entertained Kenzie and I -
not even girls in G-strings could keep my boys attention.
The Ports:Progresso & Cozumel Mexico
Progresso had Cheap Shopping,
Lots of Begging, and was HUMID AND HOT!!!
Jelly Fish in the Water
Hayden is trying to hear the Ocean in the seashell...
Cozumel had More Expensive Shopping,
Not as much Begging,
but was still HUMID AND HOT!!!
The Best Parts:
The Kids Camps-
Hayden is the ONLY child that went.
But he LOVED it!!
The Towel Animals: The kids favorite!
And, of course, the FOOD!!
We ate Chocolate Melting Cake every night
and had soft ice cream cones every hour.
YUMMMMM!!!!
Jose was our waiter each night.
He called Mackay - "Mickey",
Hayden - "Kaden"
Kenzie was "Kenzie"
I was "Dawn"
and Aaron was "Sir Aaron".
Hayden and his escargot (snails)
He ate ALL of them.
Mackay didn't like the snails.
We had a lot of fun and still relaxed on this trip.
The kids had their fair share of fights
- with battle wounds to prove it,
but when they needed someone to hang out with,
they became friends again.
Aaron needed some time away from work,
he enjoyed reading his books and staring into the ocean (he LOVES water).
I love to vacation so I was happy.
New Orleans was my favorite part.
All in all - we had a great time.
We were together as a family,
making memories
and enjoying every bit of it.
THE END!!

Vacation Part 3

Monday morning, August 16th, we went to watch
the New Orleans Saints practice.
Although they play their games INSIDE
at the Super dome,
they practice OUTSIDE.
Mackay was in heaven!!
Hayden was... not.
The HEAT... about 15 minutes in,
Hayden, Kenzie, & I were bee-lining it for the car.
Air conditioning is a beautiful thing!!

Head Coach: Sean Payton

Drew Brees #9 Quarterback

Other Quarterbacks #10 Chase Daniel & #4 Sean Canfield

Reggie Bush #25

Kenzie and Aaron(my history lovers) wanted to tour a WWII Museum.

I kept the boys in the hotel with the AC cranked!! :)
1:00 pm, we returned the car
and headed to the Convention Center.
To wait in line...........
Outside... in the H-E-A-T!!!!!
Finally, we boarded The Carnival Triumph!!
Off to Pregreso Mexico and Cozumel.