Welcome home! And. . .

All last week Ethan was at outdoor school.  He had a wonderful time!  Here he is.  As you can see, puberty hit while he was gone and he's grown a mustache.  Also, when the mustache is present, he speaks with an a Tennessee accent.

 I thought it would be fun to welcome him home with a treat, and then I figured out it was also Chandler's half birthday, AND Heidi's 14 month birthday.  So, a cake was made!

 We also sang a very happy "un-birthday" to Emilee and Aidan.

It was a great kick off for the weekend!

Shout out's

First of all, a big shout out to the transportation people, who have seen things my way after multiple emails, phone calls, and near desperate pleading.  There is now a bus that comes right past our house for Aidan in the morning.  Below is the route proposition I sent as part of my campaign to have the route changed.  Bless those people!

Next, a big shout out to Craig.  That's Craig of Craigslist.  For without him, I probably never would have found my dream bed and brought it home for nearly nothing.  Isn't it lovely?  Sigh. . .

My next shout out goes to Amy.  A cute little lady who not only went and picked up the bed with me (and helped me tie it to the top of the van) but has been helping me get inspired about home decorating.  She helped me pick this grey for the bathroom and gave me the courage to go for it and paint the trim.  More pictures to come hopefully next week. . .  it's BEAUTIFUL (but I want to wait until it's all pulled together for the before and after)!

A little shout out to the little people that I love.  Thank you for wearing bow ties when I ask, for they are mighty cute.  And to Emilee, for being smart little dolly who is not only darling, but learning to read.  Bless you child for helping me to feel that perhaps I'm not a complete ninny when it comes to teaching a child to read (I tried with the first 3), but that maybe they just really weren't ready.  She is, and it is SO MUCH FUN!

Burger Time

I made some delish burgers yesterday for lunch.  I made 6, thinking that Heidi would have a bite or two of mine and then some other Heidi food.  Heidi had a different idea.  I had a bite or two of Heidi's burger instead.

Tenderfoot

Since becoming a boy scout on his 11th birthday, Ethan has been a very busy little scout.  He earned 4 merit badges at scout camp, is working on another, and received his first rank advancement from "scout" to "tenderfoot."  Great job Ethan!

It's Soccer Time!

We are in full swing of soccer season around here.  With two children in soccer this year, I am juggling like crazy to get everybody to practice and games, along with everything else.  Chandler's team (the FireEagles) is a fun group of boys.  He's still kind of in the "chase and kick" phase of soccer, but he's learning more and more each game!

 Aidan is SO much fun to watch play.  He is an intense player, and scores just about every week.  His enthusiasm, aggression, and skill is really progressing and he is quite a little powerhouse out there.

The Robbery

I hope you will enjoy this funny little movie my boys made at the beginning of the summer, entitled, "The Robbery."  It is about two boys who play cowboys and then at the end they transform back into themselves.  I think it's pretty cute!

Sunday Linner

On Sunday at our house, we get home from church around 1:30.  Too late for lunch without ruining dinner, too early for dinner.  So, we have adopted a "Sunday Linner!"  We have spaghetti with meat sauce every week (and if we don't there is much weeping and wailing) and everybody puts on their "Sunday uniform."  For the LONGEST  time the boys were putting on white T-shirts every Sunday, I have finally convinced them that RED is the color to wear (or Tie Dye)!  So, put on your Sunday Uniform and come on over for linner!  We're serving up Spaghetti at 2:00.