Let the school year begin!

We have finally made it to the first day of school. It is the official end of summer vacation. My kids couldn't be more excited. I think we've been ready for about three weeks now and they've been counting down the days.

We have a new schedule this year to get used to. School doesn't start until 9:35am and goes until 4:05pm. It's crazy and was a little weird to have everything shifted in our day. Megan was up at 6:20am with those 1st day butterflies. She had plenty to time to get herself ready. Andrew was up shortly after her at 7:15am but dragged a bit. We had so much time on our hands this morning it was funny. It may take us a few weeks to be in a nice routine.

As we headed to the bus the kids were filled with excitement. We got to chat it up with one of Megan's old classmates while we waited at the stop. It was only the 3 of us waiting which is a small amount compared to the usual of 8. The bus came right at 9 on the dot which is our pick up time and things fell into place perfectly.

I headed out to pick up the kids from their long first day of school and ended up waiting and waiting and waiting. Their bus was an hour late!!! My cell phone died while I was waiting and I heard other parents trying to call and just getting the voice mail to both the transportation and school. In the end the bus finally came and found out he was delayed on his route at another school which put him behind. He promised not to be late in the future. He was so prompt this morning that this was too crazy.

Once the kids got off the bus Megan was super happy. She loves her class and had an outstanding day. I got the play by play of what she did and who she hung out with. Andrew said he had a great day but hated waiting for the bus. It made him tired to wait so long. His teacher reports that he had a perfect first day!! Since he is in regular mainstream 1st grade I was nervous we'd have an adjustment period but we are off to a great start. I'm super excited for this year and can't wait to see them grow.

Water Works

We have had a great summer and have spent much of our time playing in whatever water source we could find. The kids look forward to our outings and they've become a must for us. Once school let out we quickly found that a happy house is one where the kids get to go out and do something for them at least three times a week.


We started small as the weather wasn't really great. We have been to the library a number of times and Megan received her award for completing the summer reading program. She made an effort to help Andrew but he never was patient enough to sit and listen to her read. It didn't take long before we wore out the library and the kids were ready for something new.


We hit up a few new play parks which the kids enjoyed. Anything outdoors really was something fun for them. The beautiful landscapes and awesome summer weather just invite you to linger outside as long as possible. We took every advantage possible to us.

This year we added a wading pool and the lake to our outings of fun. The kids loved both places as much as the old places. I think their absolute favorite was the lake. This is a bit far for us to travel and takes more planning on my part but they love it.

We had some hot beautiful weather which made all the water nice and refreshing. The kids loved the ice cream truck guy that would come around. Those little ears could pick up the music they play anywhere. Andrew felt super special for such a nice treat while having so much fun.


We had a few kind of cloudy days where is was warm but not hot really. The kids still loved the water wherever we went and sometimes got a little chilled when it was all done and they were wet. On those very few days we hit up good ol' 7-11 for some specially made hot chocolate. This was Megan's favorite part. She loves feeling all grown up with her own cup that she helped make. She is a fan of hazelnut creamer.

We still have 12 more days of summer left and it feels so far away. They are at that tail end where they don't really want to make the effort to go out but don't want to stay home either. We are still determined to squeeze out the last bit of summer but find ourselves ready for school. We've already gotten the new clothes and supplies so all we need now is the time. It should be a fun year and we can't wait to see what it brings.

Happy #7 for my little man

Ahhh seven years ago today this handsome little guy came into the world and our little family. He has always been such a cutie and we've loved seeing him grow.

Yesterday the kids and I had a great time looking back at all of our family photos. It was funny to take out Megan's baby book to find it completely full and all her. Then I took out Andrew's and found his only a quarter full. I kind of got nervous wondering where all of his pictures were. I guess I did the typical 2nd child got shorted thing and never filled the book. Since when he was born we switched to digital camera his stuff is mainly all on Cd's.

All three of us were giggling as we sorted through the Cd's and looked at the kids growing up. I sometimes forget how little and cute they were. As they get bigger and take on their own personalities they change physically in their looks as well as mentally in their maturity.

We decided to let Andrew rule the day as we celebrated a bit early with Jeff home. Andrew loved being the king and getting to call the shots. We gave him several options as to what we could go out and do. He picked another round of mini golf. As our last outing wasn't exactly stellar I was a bit nervous but this was his day and his pick. It's tough to have a party since he has a summer birthday so we just do our family thing and he loves it.

Both kids did an amazing job and were super good. It was fun as we played 36 holes in beautiful weather. At one point in our games each one of us got a hole in one. I think that made Andrew's day he loved his "hole in one" hole the best except for the water feature hole. Both kids showed their maturity and how big they have really gotten on me.

After our 36 holes we headed out for an early dinner at our favorite place, Red Robin. Andrew downed 2 bowls of mac n cheese and still had room for a bday sundae. They gave him balloons and he happily shared his treat with the family after he had his fill.

Later that night we also celebrated with our own chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. This was a must for him. He asked for it several times leading up to the celebration. He made sure we all knew what he wanted. He had plenty of sugar for his celebration.

Megan also helped him with her own party celebration. She made up several party games for them to do to make him feel special. Pin the tail on the cat was their favorite but they also tried limbo, hide n seek, and laser tag. She really wanted to put her own spin on his day and he was happy to let her. We had a great time celebrating his birthday and he loved being in charge. I think he has felt like a king for several days now. Since today is his actual birthday we've already had his special hot chocolate and we are planning lunch now. I love to see how far we've come and what a special little guy he is. I'm so blessed to have him in our family. I can't wait to see what we do next year.

Tee Time

We have this miniature golf course that you can see from the freeway on the outskirts of town. We probably pass it around once a week and we've always said someday we are going to try that place out. Well we had a sunny weekend and time on our hands and as we passed by we decided that it was time to try it out.

This place has four different 18 hole courses to choose from in a pretty small space. I was really surprised when the lady said we had our choice of the four. Our deciding factor was which course had the least amount of people on it. That way we could take our time and have fun. This place was not exactly the best of set ups. In comparison to the other course in town this one was not very well done. All the holes were pretty much the same. They were very short and crammed into a small space. We had to go hunting for a ball or two as the fence wasn't so good either with huge gaps at the bottom just perfect for the ball to sneak through.

Andrew really enjoys playing. He listens to Jeff's advice and tries the practice shots but would rather just hit it and redo the shot if needed. He is a fan of the scoop shot where he scoots the ball along not actually hitting it. It was fun trying to tell him to hit the ball. He also is our switch hitter, he couldn't decide if he was going right handed or left. I think he started right and after a few holes switched to left. He could make a hole last forever if we let him. Never once did he complain and he had a great time.

Megan on the other hand is so competitive that if she isn't winning or doing as good as her Dad then she isn't having fun. It's one of those slow type of meltdowns where she gets quiet at first, then you start getting the stink eye from her, then if you try and say anything you get your head bitten off. I think this is our second mini golf outing as a family and her second meltdown. This is not her sport. She gets so into it that she feels if she muscles the ball it will do what she wants but of course it only makes it worse. It was a great time for one child but not so fun for the other. I don't think we'll be going on this type of outing again anytime soon. Some things just need some time and this is one of them for us. Since Jeff loves to golf I hope that we can go again in the future.

Street Fair

Last year I heard about this special event that happens in Kent each year. It is called the cornucopia days with a whole variety of stuff to do. I was very intrigued so I've been on the lookout to find when it was coming around again. I of course found it and we hit it up the street fair portion.

We got geared up and headed out. The kids had a great time and hit up every booth giving away free stuff. They each had a sack in my backpack that we added to frequently. They loved the booths that had the spin the wheel to win a prize. I think we made sure we went to all of those.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon. We didn't see anything that really caught our eye to buy and later had a few regrets for not getting this cool little cup that turns any liquid into a slushy in seconds. We totally forgot about it till we were half way home and then remembered we wanted to go back to that if we hadn't spent our money. Oh well....

It was fun and something different for this crew to do. I'm glad we went, we had a great time.