Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Today...

Now that the kids are back in school, I'm going to work on getting the blog updated. I have months and months worth of pictures to blog. I'm also going to get my house clean (we get company tonight!!! Yay, Tim R.) and hopefully it will stay clean all day (except that I have Leslie but she only makes smallish messes right now - but the kids do get out of school at 1:00 so we'll have to see how clean it stays). Anyway, I'm on the timer today - 15 minutes for cleaning, 15 minutes for blogging. We'll see how it goes. Check back.....

Swimming Lessons

Clear back in June, when we still lived in Pratt, Christopher took swimming lessons. It was called "Splash Class" and was geared toward younger kids who had a bit of fear of the water. It was perfect for Christopher. Most of the time he just held on to the kick board and walked from edge to edge, but that's more than he did the previous year. One day he actually put his head in the water. That was HUGE. I loved Splash Class - private lessons, five days for $7. Can't beat that!Walking...

Walking...

Walking through a hula hoop...

More walking...
(That's his teacher next to him. I think his name is Josh but it might be Justin. I know it's a fairly popular J name, though. I'll have to ask Christopher if he remembers.)

The First Day of School...

Or, as I like to call it, MOTHER'S DAY!!!

The kids started school today. It was a short, mental/emotional trial to figure out which school they should attend. We live in the Wallace District but are 30 miles from that school (and they don't bus). I thought about sending them to North Platte Schools since they are closer (20 miles) but then found out that North Platte does not bus either - not even the "country" kids. That doesn't work for me. (They were willing to pay my gas one way, to the farthest school from the house, but I would still be in the hole about $12 each day in gas, not to mention the 30 minutes each direction, twice a day... Again, that doesn't work for me.) So, we decided to try Maywood School in the town of Maywood. Maywood is about 25 miles south of us but they bus. I just have to drive the kids six miles on the dirt road where the bus will pick them up on the highway. That part is still not ideal, but the rest of it is... The school (K-12) has only about 150 students attending. They do not combine grades so each class is VERY small. JJ is one of 11 students (10 boys, one girl). Kelly is one of 10 students (five boys and five girls). There are eight students in Christopher's class (seven boys, one girl). I am excited that they will get so much individual attention with such small classes. JJ has to take band and 7th grade Ag.

John - 7th grade - can't get the dang kid to smile, but at least he posed for a picture.

Kelly - 4th grade - she's been wanting a John Deere shirt all summer now because, as she says, "We're farm people, Mom. We're farm people!" Kelly slept in sponge rollers last night so she could have curly hair for the first day of school.

Christopher - Kindergarten - He has been waiting FOREVER to wear his new shoes and his Lego Star Wars shirt. His backpack has been packed FOREVER and he was excited about his Lightning McQueen lunchbox.

The whole group - Leslie wanted to get in the picture, too. She kept walking over to JJ, asking to be picked up.

JJ in front of the Junior-Senior High School part of the campus.

Kelly, in front of her classroom. She is in a permanent "portable".

Christopher in front of his classroom. The sun was in his eyes so I had to step in front of him and block it with my shadow. He has his resting mat under his arm. School is going to be a shock to his system. He is used to sleeping in until 9:00, grazing all day, watching TV and playing whenever/whatever he wants. Now he'll be on the bus by 7:30 and off about 4:15. I think he'll love it, though. (I did tear up for just a minute when I gave him a hug goodbye.)

For the grandparents... This is a picture of the whole campus. JJ's classes are in the brown building on the left. Kelly's classroom is in the white building in the middle. Christopher's classroom is behind the trees that are just to the right of Kelly's building. The big brown wall on the right is where the cafeteria is. The playground is to the right of the cafeteria. The football stadium is to the left of the Jr/Sr High. The grass you see is in the middle of the drop-off driveway loop.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

You can have your cake...

and eat it, too!
Kelly and I made ladybug cupcakes for Leslie's birthday family celebration today. I stole the idea from my friend Debbie Kirby. Imagine that the ladybugs have antennae made of black licorice and you'll get the full effect - unfortunately, black licorice cannot be found in Pratt. Still, I think they turned out very cute. When we put the cupcake with the candle on her tray, Leslie grabbed for it (of course). Kelly stood behind Leslie and held her hands while I snapped the picture.
Laughing at Daddy.
Her expression just makes me crack up. She's giving her siblings "the look".
Just a little exploring


and a little taste.
She tried the oreo right away but took a while to eat the cake.
Looking at the mess she made on the floor.
I don't know that Leslie actually got any of the cake in her mouth, but the frosting is all over her face and up her arms clear to her elbows.

The Big ONE!!!

Leslie turned ONE on June 14th. Because it's in the middle of wheat harvest, we celebrated on Sunday (that will be the next post). Here are some pictures that we took on her birthday.She's "talking" on the phone to Grandma and Grandpa F. The picture I took of her actually holding the phone was deleted off my computer when I tried to rotate the picture from horizontal to vertical. UGH!




We love Leslie. Now that we have figured out what her stomach issues are, she is all smiles! She loves necklaces and hates shoes. I think she's going to be left handed because she usually reaches with her left hand and holds things more with her left hand. We call her Doodles and Missy Magoo. She can walk around furniture but shows no interest in letting go and taking off on her own. Someday... She weighs more than 27 pounds and is a total chunky monkey. Leslie has eight teeth - four on the top and four on the bottom. She still drools a lot but the throwing up has slowed considerably, even when she hasn't had her medicine.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Guess what!!!

The word is out....


We are moving


to


















North Platte, Nebraska!

John has to report as the Assistant Manager of an 18,000 acre farm (that's 28.125 square miles) on June 20th. The kids and I will probably go the week after that.


(Note to all my ND friends.... North Platte is a great stopping point between Fargo and Salt Lake City!!!)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

It's been a long time...

... since I posted anything on this blog (or my other one, for that matter). There's a good reason for that and I'll share the exciting news soon - hopefully in the next few days. Stay tuned.


And NO, I'm not pregnant. This factory is C.L.O.S.E.D!