July 29th

Alright I had a very nostalgic day today. Can you believe we are officially parents of school aged children? I actually spent the afternoon registering the boys for kindergarten. And when I say I spent the afternoon it is not an understatement. I left work early and drove down to the elementary school and when I got there the line was unbelievable. After 2 hours in line I finally was up there - with my birth certificates, social security cards, immunization cards, proof of residency and of course our "donation" of $95.00 .

Not believing that I would ever be sad to see my boys start kindergarten - I think I might be choking on those words on August 13th as just registering them in this big school stirred some emotions in me. I guess I might end up as one of those moms watching their kids go off to kindergarten through the tears in their eyes.

So what does it take to get three kindergarteners started for school? Here is what I purchased just for the school supplies requested by the teacher:
36 #2 pencils
3 packs of colored pencils
12 - 8ct CRAYOLA crayons
12 - 24ct CRAYOLA crayons
6 packs of CRAYOLA classic thick washable markers
12 black dry erase markers
6 pair of Fiskars 5" sharp scissors
6 bottles of Elmers School Glue
30 Elmers glue sticks
6 greg ruled steno books
6 plastic pockets GREEN folders
6 pencil pouches
90 sheet protectors top loading
144 gallon ziploc bags
144 quart ziploc bags
6 waterless hand sanitizers
6 rolls of paper towels
6 containers of Clorox Wipes
6 containers of baby wipes
6 kleenex tissues

And I am sure there will be much more to buy plus any homework supplies.. talk about a cart full. When I checked out at Walmart - the lady asked me if I was buying for a classroom because I could get tax free - I said no just starting 3 kids to school.

July 19th

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!! Today was Ella's 1st birthday. Is she not the cutest thing? She has such a great personality. She was really tired and not quite sure about the cake but she did get her hands a little dirty. She really is at one of those fun stages when they are still such happy children. We love her so much and the boys adore playing with their cousin.

Ella in the adorable dress that her Aunt Kristi made for her :)

July 9th

I honestly am beginning to love this age of my boys. Today was Daddy's (Richard) birthday. Can you believe he is now 34? So the boys and I went shopping on our way home from school. I told them that they could each pick out something for Daddy for his birthday but it had to be within reason on cost and something he would like not a new toy that they wanted.

So off we went - walking through the men's section Charlie took off running and grabbed a pair of super hero pajama pants. They were perfect in his eyes - it had every imaginable hero on the pants- the only problem were they were about 2 sizes too big. But I just could not bring myself to tell him as he was so pleased with his choice.

Then Nicholas found a pair of Batman boxers. There is a huge Bat symbol right over the center of the boxers - of course exactly what Richard wanted. But these too were what Nicholas fell in love with for his present to his Daddy.

So then Cameron was walking around shopping - he was a little harder to find something for his Daddy. But he came across a t-shirt he liked. It was a navy shirt but then I saw the picture - it had a man with a air cloud coming from behind and the words "Free Gas". I started laughing and he said per Cameron - "It is a pooty shirt". So seeing it was not THAT bad I let him get it.

For the first time they picked out their own gifts for their Daddy. Such a big step in our household. Wonder if Daddy will take them shopping for my birthday next year???

July 5th

During the Holiday weekend the boys were able to experience something they had never done before - they were able to go tubing!! They were so excited to be able to be on the raft. Richard rode with each one individually - knowing that I told him that he had to fall off the raft if any of the boys fell off. They sped through the water behind the boat with big smiles on their faces and never fell off!!

All the boys and Baylee in the raft - Richard looking on

And here we go!!

Riding behind the boat.

Laying down on the raft - holding on tightly

Cameron and Daddy waving at Mommy

July 4th

For the 4th of July weekend - we all went down to the Agerton Lake house. The boys adore going to the lake and love being able to swim with Mom and Dad. We were able to get the water trampoline out and we played... We really had a great time and love being able to spend quality time together.

Everyone taking turns on the trampoline

Cameron coming down the slide.

Nicholas jumping from the launch pad.

Grandmommy and Ella watching us play.

Charlie launching off!

Cameron jumping!

Mommy and Nicholas - "swimming"

Charlie and his "evil" smile

Beth and Baylee swimming

June 27th

During the summer the boys swimming lessons are at Beverly's house on Fridays. This has been a great opportunity for Richard to go and watch them swim. They have now been swimming with a private swim coach for a year. They can swim the length if the pool, the backstroke, and are learning to dive. I am so glad that this is something that they have been able to have this opportunity at their preschool.

Nicholas and Rachel (Wait isn't that Charlie's girlfriend?)
All the boys getting ready (Cam,Charlie,Nicholas)

Cameron swimming to the stairs

Nicholas swimming