Back to School 2013-2014

Another school year has begun!  I can't believe it.  Summer just flew by this year.

We now have a Kindergartner, Second Grader, Fifth Grader, Seventh Grader and Eighth Grader.

This school year Liam starts All day Kindergarten.  Thursday was his first day of school.  The day before I felt my emotions on the surface the entire day.  We went to play at open gym and he and I were running around laughing, playing with the balls, bouncing, kicking, just having a great time.  All of a sudden I realized this would be our last noon time open gym together and I got misty eyes.  I wanted to just hold on to that moment forever.  I always have a hard time when my babies go to school for the first time.  Liam is my little buddy, we have a special connection so it was especially hard letting him go for 8 hours a day.  To be honest I'm still questioning my decision to let him go all day....or to let him go at all!!

Official first day pictures:

Aidan had a particularly hard time with Liam leaving. Liam and Aidan are very close to each other.  Liam says they are "Best Brothers."  Aidan loves Liam so much and wants to do everything like him.  Aidan can say his "L's" perfectly but he calls his brother "Me-am" because Liam is merely an extension of Aidan.  Of course, they had to get a picture together and then Aidan spent the rest of the day asking if could go to school now.  He cried for at least an hour straight by mid-morning and when I had to explain to him for the 125th time that he couldn't go he was hard to console.

And with his teacher, Mrs. Maggard.  This was actually taken Tuesday night at Sneak Peek, where he got to meet the teacher and drop off his supplies.

Julianna is a 2nd grader this school year and Elise is a 5th grader.  Back in the Spring we made the decision that the girls would be homeschooled this year.  It is a huge leap of faith for me because I feel really inadequate.  I've researched and researched and poured my heart and soul into studying curriculum. I have really tried to find out what will be best with their learning styles. I am excited to spend the one on one time getting to truly know them.  I've really felt led to homeschooling and I'm trusting in The Lord.  It's hard to explain and wholly personal but I know that ultimately I'm doing the right thing for my little girls and they are so excited for the new experiences we are going to have at the Bowles Academy this year.  

Elise, 5th Grade

Julianna, 2nd Grade

They wanted a picture with their teacher....silly girls....

Lastly, my two big middle schoolers.  Ashlynne is in 8th grade this year.  Cheerleading, singing in the choir and also singing in the Kansas City youth choir Allegro.  I can't believe she is in her last year of middle school!  Next year we add seminary and high school to the mix!  Somebody press pause!!!

Brinton is in 7th grade and already I can tell he is much more mature this year than last. We went to the school to get his stuff in his locker and he kind of walked the halls like he owned the place, like he belonged.  There was a new confidence in him that I'd never really seen before.  He opened his locker on the first try, which was something that was really difficult at the beginning of last year.  He is playing cello in the orchestra again this year and also takes private cello lessons.  He is thinking he might try Cross Country this year. We are only a few days in but so far so good....fingers crossed.

Our family theme this school year is "O be wise..." {Jacob 6:5} with the reminder to be wise in all that we do.  Be wise in our choices, be wise in our daily dealings, be wise in our studies...so here is to te new school year.  Be Wise.

Houston...We have a teenager....

On November 4, 1999, after 11 hours of labor our beautiful daughter came into the world. Ashlynne was only 6 lbs and 19 1/2 inches when she was born, but she was full of spunk from day one! It's hard to believe that little peanut is now a teenager! 13 years old, in 7th grade and at 5'1 she is nearly staring me straight in the eyes. Just a couple more inches and she will pass me up! (I'm only 5'3)

Ashlynne is my biggest helper and I'm grateful we are so close. She is an honor roll student, is in advanced math-Algebra 1 and she loves to read. She also loves cheerleading, theater and singing. This year she auditioned for State honor choir and out of nearly 700 kids who tried out, she made it! She is so easy to brag about because she gives 110% to everything she does. It's so fun to see the young woman she is growing into.

We don't do birthday parties on odd number years instead we go out for a special family dinner that the kids get to choose. I allowed her to bring one friend and she chose one of her closest friends KD, who is like one of our kids anyway. Ash wanted to go mall shopping and out to a steak and sushi dinner so that's what we did. For me it was as much a birthday celebration as it was a celebration that we've made it through 13 years of parenting and we officially have a teenager! Yay?!?! Haha.

We have a teenager....

School Days Part Deux

Today was Ashlynne's first day of school as a 7th grader.  It was kind of different for me this year because I had no say in her outfit (well I mean of course I kind of did but she picked it out entirely and I accepted as long as it was appropriate but other than that I had zero say).  I also had nothing to do with her hair, she got it all prepped and ready last night, woke up early this morning and just did it by herself.  She is also wearing mascara. (Is she really in 7th grade?!)

First day of 7th Grade

7 fingers for 7th grade!  This picture makes me laugh and laugh!

Best Friends.  My Middle School Kids.

Last week we went over to the school to decorate her locker.  That's a really big deal here for most of the girls.  Some went all out covering the entire inside of their lockers with decorative duct tape, wall paper, carpet samples...it's pretty insane.  We had a little activity with friends from church and made a couple cute things for her locker and then went and decorated.  It's sweet, simple, functional and very Ashlynne.

Standing in front of her newly decorated locker

The finished product.

I'm so happy to have a 7th grader.  She can finally, really do stuff....academically, sports, choir, theater.... It's so exciting!!

Sometimes they steal my phone...

....and take pictures of themselves.

It's always a surprise when I open the camera roll on my iPhone and I find unauthorized photos...meaning the kiddos have "borrowed" my phone (likely without my permission) to practice their ninja photography skills.

I bet you can guess who is doing the majority of the iPhone "borrowing," right?

No??

Just look...does there seem to be a specific person reoccurring in all these pics??

12 years...

Today my beautiful, sweet, amazing, intelligent, creative, first born child Ashlynne turns 12 years old. It's so hard not to sound cliche' when I say that I can't believe that my beautiful baby girl is already 12 years old because it's the truth. I look at the last 12 years and I'm so grateful for the light she has been in my life.

I was 17 when Jeremiah and I were married, just 18 when I gave birth to Ashlynne. In many ways I feel like I've grown up with her over the last 12 years. It's true that the Lord knows exactly what we need in our lives and he always provides....Ashlynne was exactly what our lives needed and I am forever grateful for the way she's changed our lives.

I just want to wish my beautiful daughter a happy 12th birthday.
I love you sweet Ashlynne.

Friday Foto #9: Oldest and Youngest

Middle School

My oldest child started middle school today. I'm not really sure how that happened because I swear that I was just dropping her off to her first day of kindergarten last year but yet here we are....wow. We've been anticipating this day all summer long (well she has been anticipating and I've had a mixture of anticipation and dread) but nonetheless the first day of 6th grade has been in constant discussion in our home. This mornng she woke up bright and early, got dressed in her outfit she's had picked out for a month and then she got everything ready to go. Then we decided to go outside so I could take a few obligatory first day of school pictures.



Supplies gathered and pictures taken it was time to say goodbye. It was a few minutes too soon to go wait for the bus so we sat together on the front porch for awhile just chatting, her and I. I loved those last few moments we had together before she walked to the corner to wait at the bus stop. As I watched her walked down the street tears filled my eyes as I watched my daughter walk towards a brand new chapter in her life. At first her pace was steady but as she neared the bus stop and saw her friends she began to run. I could just feel the excitement from all the way down the street! I laughed a little but the tears continued to flow. Then the bus rounded the corner, the new 6th graders boarded and they were off....



Usually Ashy would just ride the bus home but I really wanted see her locker and her school and just somehow be a little piece of her first day of middle school experience so I decided to pick her up from school. When I got there I waited outside and she walked out without her school bag. She left it in her locker becaseu she didn't have anything to bring home. I decided we need to go back inside and get it (so I could get a look at her locker...) and she was pretty put out. LOL! She said, "MOM I JUST WALKED DOWN 3 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS (Her locker is on the 3 floor)...I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK UP THERE!" But I made her anyway. Tee hee...I'm so bad. She opened her locker so fast, memorized her combination and she was a pro! I was amazed!



All in all she had an amazing day. Her homeroom is full is kids she is already friends with, she made a couple of new friends, loved her Spanish class and her English class, she's a little scared of her Home Ec class, and she liked every single one of her teachers. I'd say for a first day it was A1.

Didja miss us?

Yay! We're back online! We had some issues with our internet at the beginning of the week and then our wireless router decided to roll over and die. We're back in business now though so Yay! Yay! Yay!

I'd like to take a moment to thank....
Radio Shack. I never thought I'd thank RADIO SHACK for anything. In fact, I thought people stopped shopping at Radio Shack back in 1993. But not Pittsburg. Nope, not our town. Radio Shack is our technology superstore and it's where we bought our new router for cheaper then Walmart!! Thank you Radio Shack.

My Husband. Thank you for understanding what the heck a router does, why it was broken, why it was irreparable, and how to install the new one. You're Awesome!

My iPhone. Thank you precious iPhone for still allowing me to connect to the outside world via my facebook app when I thought all was lost.

You guys. Thank you for not leaving even though I didn't post for a whole week. You didn't leave right? You're still there, right? Hello....hello....

Lastly, in honor of our 7th Snow Day in 2 1/2 weeks, a cute picture of Ashlynne & Brinton.

Weekend Favs and Ummm...Not So Favs

3 Weekend Favorites
***

Ashlynne had an allstar Cheer Competition this weeked in Tulsa, OK.

Her team won 2nd place...it was super tough competition and I am so, so proud of them.

Lately we've been trying to give our kids a little "culture" by renting Totally Rad 80's movies from Netflix and watching them together as a family. This weekend we got BACK TO THE FUTURE: Part 1,2,&3. We watched Part 1 on Saturday, followed by Part 2 last night, and Family Home Evening tonight will consist of lots of popcorn and Back to the Future:Part 3. My kids are absolutely LOVING the movies and I'm developing a little bit of a crush on Michael J. Fox, again.

Last night I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner. Nothing sounded good, I was feeling a little tired, and welll just plain lazy. I opted for sandwiches but before I could drag myself into the kitchen to cook my sweet hubby had already taken care of it. He made us a yummy Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner) with fluffy buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. It was pretty darn good.

--->Imagine a photo of a yummy plate of food RIGHT.HERE<---

Now some NOT-SO-FAVORITES

***
Between the two youngest boys I'm pretty sure I changed roughly 1,653,756,324 poopy diapers this weekend. I need to do some potty training of a 2 (almost 3) year old...FAST.

Do you think my 4 month old will be on board, too??

(NO PHOTOS NECESSARY)

Baby pukey.
Poopy is bad enough but seriously milk pukey all over my favorite blouse at church. Not Coolio, Aidan Bug. I'll have to remember not to wear that blouse till the pukey days are over in a few months.

(YEP, YOU'LL SURVIVE WITHOUT PHOTOS OF THIS TOO...)

I have a sick 11 year old. Luckily, she was feeling great for her competition but now she is sniffly, sneezing, coughing, achy and feverish. It's a Nyquil commercial come to life. *sigh*
(POOR THING IS SLEEPING...)

Ashlynne turns 11....

November 4, 2010

Dearest Ashlynne,

Words can not begin to describe how much I love you, my beautiful daughter. You are my oldest child, my first born and you've brought so much joy into my life. Following, in no specific order, are just 11 of the billions of things I love about you.

1. You are such an ENOURMOUS help to me.

You are always looking for ways to serve, ways to help with your siblings...

Thank you.

2. You are so funny! You always keep me laughing.

3. You are a beautiful writer.

You're always writing stories , poems, songs....I love it!

4. You are a great cheerleader and have lots of spirit.

I love how dedicated you are to your sport.

I love how dedicated you are to everything you do.

5. You''re such a smart girl.

I know how much you dislike Social Studies but you still work hard to get A's, in all of your classes.

6. You are a good friend.

7. I love it when I catch you helping Brinton with his homework

or

sharing something with Elise,without me asking you to.

8. Liam loves you so much.
He waits for you to get home from school so he can give you a big hug.

He talks about you all day long.

9. Julianna wants to be just like you.

She wants to dress "popular" like you (Lol. her words, not mine)

She wants to be as cool as you, have her hair like you....

I'm so glad that she has such a great example for a big sister.

10. Aidan of course LOVES you....his first smile went to YOU!

I'm still a little jealous ;)

11. You are all I ever hoped for in a daughter! Beautiful, smart, funny.....you can be a brat too sometimes but as frustrating as that can be I even LOVE those little moments. It's in those bratty times when I remember how bratty I used tobe and I appreciate my mother more. Hopefully, one day you will too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLYNNE!

I HOPE IT IS A MAGICAL DAY!

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOUR FUTURE HOLDS!

I love you to the moon and back infinity times infinity

Mommy

First Day of School!

I told you there would be some happy, bloggy fluff coming this week!!!

Today was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for my 3 big kiddos. The summer flew by so quick and my babies are another grade older. Without getting to mushy gushy, cliche' sentimental it is true what they say, they really do grow too fast.

Elise, my little Lisey Loo, is a 2nd grader. Boggles the mind, pretty sure she was just in Kindergarten. She was so excited about starting school today. The first words out of her mouth this morning were, YAY! SCHOOL!

Then there is Brinton who is starting 4th grade this year. Brinton is NOT a morning person but he was up bright and early, dressed and ready to go before I could even go in to wake him up. I have a feeling this will be a good year for him.

Lastly, Ashlynne. She is the big kid on campus this year, 5th grade! The oldest kids in the school, they rule the playground. She is especially excited this year because the 5th grade is departmentalized, there are 3 teachers and she will rotate between them for each of her core subjects (like the middle school kids). Holy cow....this is her last year of ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

Happy First Day of School my little angels....don't grow up too fast!!!