This Melts my Heart

There is something about Gates that melts my heart. I don't know if it is the way he talks or the way he looks over those little glasses, but he gets me right in the heart. So when he learned this at school this week (he has only been there two mornings); I cried. It made him seem so big yet so small and it was so sweet. He can also do some of the sign language with it but he chose not to while I was videoing this.

One of my favorite things about Annapolis Christian Academy is that they do LOTS of Bible memory. Not just a verse here or a verse there but chapters. It is amazing to watch kindergarten kids say all of Psalms 100. In helping the kids learn their verses for the week I learn them too. It has been great for my Bible knowledge, too.

Snake Lost...

...Snake found!

We had a close call tonight. When I got home from dinner I noticed some sand on the book shelf next to where the snake aquarium sits. I look around the aquarium and sure enough no snakey. I hurry and get the kids to bed because it is already 9:30 and they should have been in bed an hour ago. If I would have told them the snake was out, there would have been tears shed and craziness. By the way the last snake was never found. In case you missed it, my sister purchased Elisabeth another one for her birthday. Surely the other snake found his way outside. So once the kids were in bed, I started looking. I found him in the play room under a basket of swords. He was a fast little booger and he peed on me, but I got him and put him in the travel cage he came in with a brick on top. Needless to say, we are going to have to invest in a locking lid for the snake cage. I can't have all kinds of snakes loose in my house.

First Day of School Officially Over

These pictures are terrible. I accidently left my camera on a weird setting. But they are pictures so here we go. The kids all had a great day. I cried and made Hogan, who was completely fine until he saw me cry, start to cray. He quickly quit and out the door I went. I was able to get him at 12:30 which was nice....I love half day kindergarten!... Hogan is at that fake smile stage. I try really hard to teach not too but sometimes they just don't get it.
All three ready for school. Gates does not have to wear a uniform yet.
First grade
Kinder
Pre-K Four

Tomorrow's the BIG day!

Lunches packed....check Backpacks (and all the other truck loads of school supplies) packed...check

...for Elisabeth...

...for Gates...
.... and for Hogan.
Uniforms ironed and ready to go....check (Yes I do iron their clothes everyday. Please forgive me it is just one of those things I'm a lot OCD about. It drives Josh cRaZy.)

Children a sleep in their beds...oh wait NOT. They are all fake sleeping and can't go to sleep. They are going to be hard to get up in the morning.

Gates the faker!

Elisabeth the Faker! (She sleeps in her brothers' room because she is too scared to sleep in her own. She has a beautiful pink bed but wont sleep in it)
Hogan the faker!
Tomorrow will be so sad for me. I don't think I'm gonna know what to do with myself.

Oh wait I might could catch up on my house. It's a wreck and Aundrea wont be back until September 3rd.

Please pray for all our first days of school. I love fresh beginnings and the start of school seems to be one to me, but I know how hard they can be, too. I pray that my kids have great teachers, make great friends and learn great things. Most importantly pray for them to be like Jesus. Have blessed day!

Just a Few More...

Just a few more pictures of our trip. Lisa Hanna shared these with me but I liked them so I'll share them with you.

Elisabeth ready to go on the jet ski.

All the kids would fight over who got to sit on the jet ski. They loved it. That poor jet ski probably got the most use it has ever had in one weekend.
Uncle Chris and Elisabeth. Chris was in the delivery room when Elisabeth was born. Don't worry there was a curtain drawn so he couldn't see anything. However there were about ten other people in there who weren't behind the curtain. That is another story. Elisabeth was the first born of all our close college friends so she thinks she belongs to everyone and will freely climb up in any of their laps and snuggle down like she would when she was a baby.
Mommy taking the boys for a ride.
OK I'm done with the pictures from our trip. Tomorrow the kids will start school so I'm sure I'll have a bunch from that. Have a blessed Sunday night.

Part 2 from our trip to the lake

Stephen giving us a RIDE on the tube. He was sweet and didn't throw us off. Kathryn and Kaitlyn resting on the deck. Sweet mommy.
Beck rode the knee board on his knees.
Stephen and Alice on the tube. I don't think Alice liked it.
JUMP!
Hogan getting ready to ride the knee board.
Chris taking Kaitlyn and Lolly on the tube.
Check out Chris's toungue. WEE!
Here we are!
Lots of FUN...and more to be had!

13 Things...

Josh's cousin Amy asked us to play along so here it goes.....



13 things on my mind today...



13. I wish Josh was home.



12. Did we make the right decision enrolling three kids in private school this year. How are we going to ever afford it.



11. I wish our housekeeper was back from her trip out of the country.



10. Does anyone else have a FULL laundry basket of sox only that need to be folded.



09. I wish I had a laundry room.



08. Should I cut my hair?



07. Should I cut Elisabeth's hair?



06. I wonder where Kelly Ripa got her yellow and white shirt she had on today.



05. My house is a disaster. Where do I start?



04. What should I take my kids to do this weekend before school starts.



03. I am cuckoo over Kelly's shirt. I wonder if there is a place online that would tell me where she got it.



02. How can I be a better mom?



01. I can't believe Hogan is going to be in Kinder. Is he really that old?

OK this made me realize that I need to completely change some of the things I think about. Thank you Amy it was fun!

Part One of the Lake Portion of our Trip

We spent the next part of our trip at Camp Creek which is a small private lake just out side of College Station. Jerry Hogan (Hogan's name sake, former elder of our church and owner of the company I worked for during college) let us use his place for a reunion of our closest college friends. We all had a great time catching up. I already miss everyone and wish we could have been together longer. However, since several of them are with out children they may have been ready for us to all go AWAY! :)

The deer there would just come right up and eat out of our hands. I did feed the deer but I had more fun taking tons of pictures of them. Check out these bucks. Beck and Hogan waiting patiently for the deer to come eat their corn.
Hogan trying to get a little closer.
...and she eats it.
All the boys ready to feed the deer.
Hogan diving into the lake. All the other kids tried and tried but Hogan was the only one that could dive with form.


Gates is really proud the deer just ate out of his hand.
Gobble Gobble. Oink Oink. Some of them were little piggies. The kids would pet all over their heads and they didn't care a bit. They just wanted more corn.
Isn't she a beauty?
BAMBI? Is that you? OK I know that was really cheesy what can I say it was just so stinken cute. I wanted to take one home.

More Con Can

I finally got a chance to down load some pictures from Josh's computer. So here is some more of the Con can portion of our trip in random order.

Aunt She She and Benjamin love the river. Uncle Stephen throws Hogan UP!
One, two THREE JuMp!
Scared of the height, Elisabeth contemplates her next move. She does make the jump.
Elisabeth and Henley searching for cans so they can free ice cream.
Gates was obsessed with finding cans. He would hardly swim until he filled his bag. This is him enjoying his free ice cream.
Josh and Stephen do a double cannon ball off the rock.

Craziness

Well I have lots of pictures to post but they are all on Josh's lap top that he has at work. So I give to you CraZinEsS!

My sister in law is in the hospital with some blood clotting problems so I have her children. My sister has a good friend who had a baby yesterday and she has her two kids. So we are all going to McDonalds; two adults and twelve kids in the pouring rain. We have been couped up for two days. I have to laugh. It is going to be so much fun!

I thought ya'll would get a kick out of the recent compliments I received from my husband:

1) "I like those shorts babe, they look really great with your chicken legs."

2) "You look nice babe, you like you are going to do the watermelon crawl." (I was wearing a orange, white and brown plaid shirt)

3) "You found your necklace. I am glad it makes your neckline look good." I guess it doesn't look good with out it :)

Josh was just trying to be sweet but I have to laugh at the way he says things.

Hope everyone has a terrific day! Full of BIG fun and lots of smiles. Off to visit the golden arches.

We're Home!

Well we came home a day early. I was tired and weary and so glad to be home. We had tons of fun but there is no place like home. So here are just a few pics to get you started. We started our trip at Con can (on the frio river) with my family. Stephen met us there. He is always so helpful with the kids. I feel like my kids need three parents at places like the river because there is always so much going on. Here, Josh, Stephen, Gates and Beck are watching some older kids jump off the 10 ft high rock. Little did I know, they would all do it, too. I made them pose.
My sweet Gates.
Becking trying to get Uncle Stephen's attention. So sweet.
Hogan happy to be in the water and SwiMmiNg!
There will be MANY more to come. I am off to take a long HOT bath before I sleep in my own bed. Good to be home.

We're Off....

We are leaving to go to the river. Then off to College Station. We'll be gone a while so don't give up on me I'll post when we get back. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures and funny storries to tell.

Hogan for President

Sometimes at our house...

...our little boys wear disguises.


...even at the breakfast table eating their toast.


...and sometimes little girls clean their bouncy balls in a cup of water, with a spoon, and a paper towel taped over the top.