Back to School - Update

A comment on my last post got me to thinking....I did not include any pictures of Miranda in her teenage years. It takes me a while to dig out the photos and scan, but I found this one of Miranda in 1995 - notice we're at a different house now .....


AND LOOK! I also had this one of Miranda and Stephanie on that first day of 10th grade!

Back to School!

Melissa's post on back-to-school made me think about all of the excitement of getting ready for that first day....the new bag, new lunchbox, new outfit and shoes...how to wear hair...so exciting! Although I took pictures every year of that first day of school, I just pulled out a couple of pictures from the first day. This first one is 1983. Melissa is going into the 3rd grade (Miss Walter's class) and Miranda is worried about seeing her Sissy go (notice the GeeGee).


This set of pictures is from 1986. Melissa is going into 6th grade and Miranda is starting Kindergarten!


This is fall of 1988. Melissa is going into 8th grade and Miranda is going into 2nd grade.
Fall 1991. Melissa is going into 11th grade and Miranda is going into 6th grade.

Kayaking, Movies and Chuck E. Chees

I got up early this morning to kayak. The water was warmer than the air, creating a layer of fog on the lake. The water level is much lower than it was a couple of weeks ago. Apparently they bring the water level down every couple of years to allow everyone to work on docks, etc. The lower water level revealed layers of rock around the lake which made for an interesting outing. I just love my time out on the lake in my kayak!

I picked up Jayden and Kyler around noon and we went to see "Aliens in the Attic." This is the 5th movie we've been to see this summer. It is great to see so many family-friendly movies. When the girls were little, they just didn't put out many family movies. And since I wouldn't let them see a PG-13 movie until they were 13 (novel idea) they were severely limited in their options. Except the time that Terri (my cousin who is just a couple of years older than Melissa) came to visit us one summer. Melissa and Terri told me that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was a religious movie...about finding Noah's Ark...we had just moved into the house on 26th street, so Melissa was about 7!

I just found on "Cutest blog on the block" that they will print out your blog! After spending all of this time on the blog recording our lives, I have wondered about our long-term options. I was so excited to find out that I can get it printed. Note to Evan: I'm sorry that you're missing out on the movies this summer. You're just too young, you won't stay. Next Year!

After the movie I took all three boys to Chuck E. Chees while Melissa had her hair done. Melissa said that they searched the house for tokens. They probably had about $10 worth. We went through those, and I bought some. I sat all three boys down and we divided the tokens evenly. The manager saw me sitting there with these three angelic little boys getting their tokens and he added a handful to the mix! They have this one similator with two chairs that move. You choose a "ride" and the video/sound starts and the chair moves so it feels like you are on a roller coaster. Kyler and Evan did this about 5 times.



Jayden spent a lot of time on this helicopter similator


Our tokens ran out before Melissa was finished, so on to Wilson Park to run off some energy....

Misc. pictures

I just had a couple of cute pictures that I wanted to post. This one is Kyler at the computer. He really knows his way around the Toys R Us website! He can go straight to the Transformers.


Jayden and Kyler are eating a can of icing....



This is Ben... cute expression...

Kyler's Vacation

This picture is Kyler playing in the basement - he loves to play with his toys. We picked him up in Fayetteville on Sunday afternoon and started the vacation with a little shopping and a stop at Toys R Us.

Kyler also enjoys working on Auntie M's roller coaster in her room.

After popsicles and Chocolate soy shakes, Kyler was a little sticky and an afternoon bath was in order.

A little art time.....

Swimming at the Mill's pool.

I don't know how Richard survived this attack by four boys.

After swimming, a little snack with the brothers.

Jayden's Vacation

Jayden has spent most of the last week with us. We picked him up in LR on Tuesday and returned him to his parents on Saturday. It was a damp week - raining almost every day. Jayden and Pop did some exploring in the attic above the shop and found all kinds of treasures up there! Jayden found this skooter that was Auntie M's. Although it is purple, it is a manly purple....






We did a little exploring on Millcreek looking for turtles. Right after this picture was taken, a water moc. slithered past me (only about 24 inches between my feet and the snake) and into the water! I decided it was time to head home....


On Thursday we headed to the Mid America Museum - a great rainy day activity. Jayden had a blast!

When we got home, we discovered that Pop's truck tire had gone flat in the driveway. Jayden jumped right in and helped Pop.

All of this rain has the creeks through our property running fast - fun to play in!
On Friday the sun finally came out and Kara called and invited us over to play with the cars....As a woman who lives with a man that is obsessed with cars, I can see that the obsession starts early.




That afternoon we got to swim in the Mill's pool with all the boys - tons of fun.