July t-shirts

My mom bought us all t-shirts with the hope that we could get a family picture taken in them. We were going to try and take it while we were all together for Sarah's wedding. It was so busy with the wedding and everyone coming and going at different times that the picture never happened. But here is our family with our t-shirts. Thanks mom for these cute tees!

Which picture of Gavin do you like the best?
#1

#2

#3

#4

#5


Which picture of Beck do you like? (Do you like his big bruise on his forehead?)
#1

#2

#3


I already picked my favorite of Hunter.

And Kylan

Now which one of us?
#1

#2

I will have to get together a cute frame with all of these pictures or something.

4th of July part 2

We really did do quite a bit this summer but you wouldn't know it from my blog. Between what we did and my school I didn't get much time on the blog. I know that it is September now and we are into school and it is starting to turn fall but I haven't finished posting what we did during the summer. So I will try and get caught up before the holidays are here.
Another one of our favorite things about the 4th of July is the fireworks at the stadium. We don't go into the stadium because of our kids ages. We figure in a couple of years when Gavin is older and hopefully starts enjoying the fireworks more we will spend the money and go inside the stadium. Although I like the fireworks from where we sit and watch them. My kids can run around and play before the fireworks start and then it is just a few minutes drive home without the traffic that the stadium will have.
We usually get a few Little Caesars pizzas and treats and just hang out until the fireworks start. This year we brought some glow-sticks. The kids loved playing with these and it kept them entertained until it got dark.
Here they are in one of their funny poses.


Now here is the pose without the flash.


Gavin saw the kids doing this pose and wanted to do one of his own.

The kids love laying in their sleeping bag and watching the fireworks.

I thought this firework looked cool. Part way through the fireworks the kids got excited and started dancing to the music. (The fireworks are put to music which we listen to on our car radio.)

More fireworks.

Like always the show was good and we all enjoyed the fireworks!

1st day of school

I haven't finished posting about the summer and this blog isn't going to be in order. But if I don't get back to school pictures up it will be too late and nobody will care at Christmas about my kids going back to school.

Hunter started 1st grade this year. He has the same teacher that Kylan had in 1st grade which makes me very happy. I love her. After his first day he reported that he loves eating lunch at school and that they are the best lunches he has ever had. He has invited Beck to come have the "Super Nachos" the next time they serve them. He is such an easy kid to please. He is having a little bit of a hard time with how long he is at school and tells me that it was a hard day sometimes because of how long he had to be at school. But he loves school.


Kylan started 6th grade this year. He is now in middle school. I was more nervous than he was about it all. He is such a laid back kid that knows how to go with the flow. It is wonderful. Before the first day of school he really wasn't wanting to go back to school. This is the first year that he hasn't been excited to go back to school. I was a little nervous that he would get burnt out earlier this year and we were going to have a very long year. But after the first day of school he loved it and is excited to go back every day. Of course he loves his days off also. He loves everything about his school. He loves the little bit of freedom that he has. This semester he is taking Spanish and Keyboarding along with the usual Math, English, and Science. He also loves lunch. This year is the first year that he has a choice. Everyday there are three choices to choose from and pizza is always one of them. He also loves that there is another gym so that when he is done with eating he can go into the other gym and there is always a basketball game that he can join. I am so glad that he is loving it!


January I started taking classes again trying to finish my teaching degree. Before this semester I have just taken on-line classes which have been awesome because I can just do all the work at home. There have only been a couple of times that I have even had to go up to campus (which is only a few minutes from my house) to turn in assignments. But this semester there was one class that I had to take that wasn't offered on-line. So I am taking a night class (I had to change around my work schedule a little )plus a couple more on-line classes. I am super busy (probably why I am so behind on my blog postings). Luckily I can still do most of my homework at home. This will be my busiest semester so far.


This year is a super busy year for all of us. Our schedules changed with Kylan changing schools. The elementary schools start 1 1/2 hours after the middle and high schools start. So Stephen or I get up and get Kylan ready. He really gets himself ready we just have to drive him to school. Then about an hour later I get the rest of the kids up after Stephen has gone to work and get them ready and drive Hunter to school. We live too close to the schools so there aren't buses. Then we do the same thing in the afternoon with picking up the kids. Kylan does have an afternoon bus and I will probably find out which bus he should ride soon because he gets out so early that it interrupts Gavin's naps to go pick him up. Then the kids have early out Fridays so they get out so early it doesn't even seem like they are at school.
Beck wanted to start school this year but he barely turned 4. He asks me every day how many days until he is 5 because you have to be 5 to go to school. He doesn't turn 5 until next July. I am going to try to do a little activity each day that we can call school and get him ready for next year. I thought about putting him in pre-school but it is expensive and I don't need to add another thing to my schedule.
Well, if I don't post very often on my blog you know why. I will try but I can't make any promises.

Hunting License

Since Kylan was able to walk he has loved hunting. He has gone every year with his dad and grandpa and has kept up with the "big boys". He has been waiting for this day for a long time and it finally came. Kylan got his "blue card" and hunting license. Which means he gets to carry a gun and shoot this year. He has always gone but he has been the observer. He is so excited for this years hunting season to start.
Here Kylan is with Jaggar (Stephen's cousin that is only a couple years older than Ky) with the deer that they helped get in 2004.

Kylan had to practice shooting before he could take his hunting test. He loved going up in the hills by Newton and shooting with his dad and grandpa.

He had to learn how to aim standing up...

Sitting down...

And kneeling.

Kylan did really well on his test and now has his license for small game this year. So he can't wait until November.

Baseball 09

Kylan and Hunter both played baseball this spring and loved it. Kylan moved up to the major league and Hunter had his second year of T-ball.

Kylan played first base most of the time


Kylan made it onto base most of the time and had quite a few RBIs.


Kylan also got to pitch in a few games. Since he was one of the younger kids this year he wasn't sure if he would get a chance. But his coach let him pitch, which is his favorite part of baseball.

Kylan did really well this year. The difference from minor league to majors was quite a shocker. The pitchers could pitch a lot faster and everyone knew what they were doing. There weren't many mistakes so you had to be on your game each game.

Hunter loved playing T-ball. Here he is playing third base.

One of his favorite parts was getting to be the catcher because he got to get the ball and put it on the tee.

He loved hitting the ball and always hit it really well. I like this picture because you can see Stephen and Beck and Gavin in the background. I think Kylan was playing his game on a different field in this game.

Hunter runs really fast. Here he is checking where the ball is while he ran to second base.

Hunter was really good this year because he started understanding the game and what he needed to do. One game he was the pitcher and he did a really good job of getting the ball and throwing it to first base.

Hunter's team picture.

Fourth of July 2009

What is a 4th of July without a bbque? We always have a bbque and this year's was especially good. Hunter helped make the homemade rootbeer which is always sooooo goooood!

Stephen helped bbque the turkey steaks which are also always sooo gooood!

Gavin had to taste the rootbeer to see if it was ready. I think that he got full from being the taste-tester.

After dinner and before it got dark the kids threw their poppers on the basketball court. Here they are trying to hit some bugs with their poppers.

At first Gavin wasn't too sure about the poppers but eventually he figured them out and had fun.

Hunter in mid-throw.

Kylan seeing how hard he can throw it.

Beck loves the poppers every year.

After the poppers we did sparklers. Here are the kids as sparkler Jedi.

Sparklers

Beck loved these sparklers. They lasted a long time.

Even Stephen got in on the action.

While we waited for it to get a little bit darker for the actual fireworks we went back to the deck and made homemade rootbeer floats. These rootbeer floats were really good. We used some really good vanilla bean ice cream and then got some of the slush from the dry ice. They were kind of like rootbeer freezes. Soooo Goooood!

The kids really enjoyed them.

Everyone enjoyed them.

More rootbeer float enjoying.

Beck couldn't help but go back for seconds and thirds and...

When it was dark enough to start the fireworks we thought that Gavin would like them. I got his own little chair but he was terrified of them. Beck tried to console him.

When it didn't work I finally held him. Here we are watching the fireworks. Gavin is under the blanket so that he can't see them. Silly boy.

Nick and Kylan lighting the fireworks.

The fireworks were sooo goood this year also.

Thanks to my in-laws for making this such a fun day. We all had a great day!