Back to SCHOOL!

Well, the summer draws to a close. We had a good one. The kids were all ready to go back to school and I was ready to get back into a routine. Avery has been waiting and waiting to get to wear some of her new school clothes and today she finally got to bust them out. She looked so CUTE and grown up! She started first grade today. Even though she's so tall she looks like she should be starting third grade. She wasn't held back! She's only SIX!I really wanted Drey to wear one of his "nicer" shirts to school on the first day but he insisted that he wear the Spongebob shirt. I decided to pick my battles with him. This one didn't seem as important so I let him wear the darn shirt. I DID make him change out of the shorts with a big bleach stain on the front. I have to draw the line somewhere. Come to find out...ALL the shorts we bought Drey for school are mysteriously too big. He tried them all on weeks ago when they were purchased, he said they fit, we took off the tags and washed them and put them away for school. Now he says they are too big. Hmmmmm. It's a mystery. I have a sneaking suspicion that he went in and PRETENDED to try them on but didn't really. Now he has basically no shorts (that don't have stains on them) to start the school year off with. This is irritating to me...I'll just leave it at that.Gage started Junior High school today. My BABY! I don't like this one bit!!! He was SO nervous. He kept asking me over and over if he matched. I told him he did and then he would go change. I guess he didn't believe me. He looked so cute! I wish he was a little less handsome...STAY AWAY girls!! He wanted me to go with him and help him find his classes. He couldn't go to Meet the Teachers night at the school because he was camping . He was nervous that he would get lost. I asked him FIVE times if he was sure that he wanted me to come with him early to the school. I didn't want to embarrass him after all. He insisted that he wanted me to come. So we went down to the school about 20 minutes before class was supposed to start. We weren't there 30 seconds and he said "I'm good, Mom. I'll find it." I was like " You don't want me to help you find the classrooms?" He quickly told me that he could do it and he would see me later. I think he didn't want to be seen with me!!! Of course, there were no other parents walking around so I don't blame him. I was nervous for him all day. Hoping he found his classes, hoping he had friends in some of them, hoping he didn't have to sit alone at lunch... oh man I remember Junior High. I wouldn't want to repeat that experience for a million dollars. Okay, maybe I would consider it for a million dollars. But not for less than that. It's a horrible awkward time. I think he'll be alright though.Delly wasn't too happy to have the kids abandon her today. All morning she would say "Where Sissy go?" I would tell her Sissy was at school. Then she would make a "pouty face" and stick her bottom lip out. A little while later she would say "Where Dreybee go? I would say he's gone to school too and she would do the thing with her lip. It was cracking me up! Poor kid lost all her playmates. Just boring old Mom now.

Camping trip with Grandpa

Gage absolutely LOVES to go camping but unfortunately Joey is not a big fan. Ever since Gage came back from Scout camp (back in June) he has been begging to go camping. I guess he figured he would have a better shot at going if he hit up his Grandpa to take him. He was right! The kid is no dummy! He asked my dad on a Sunday and the very next Friday he took off work and took both our boys up to Riggs lake for a campout. Joey was going to suck it up and go with them (he says) but unfortunately (ya right) he had some meetings that he had to go to (uh-huh). My brother Brandon and his son Noah came along as well to join in the rain..I mean fun. Thank goodness they did because my brother took 197 pictures! Yeah! It was hard to choose which ones to post!Avery and Delly have been using Gage's tent as a "rocket ship" so somehow it got a big rip in it. Sorry Gage. My bad. We had to go buy a new tent and Gage was worried that he would have trouble setting it up. Looks like they did it okay. I heard that it rained ALOT but it looks like they had some dry spells.

I LOVE the picture of Gage above. It makes me wonder what is going on in that mind of his. He looks so introspective. I wish I could crawl into his head and look around a bit.

Who is that kid in the yellow sweatshirt that is being difficult and not posing for the picture? Cause I know that NO kid of mine would behave in such a fashion!
Thanks Dad A MILLION times! The boys had the greatest time...even Drey. Sorry if he gave you a run for your money....it's good for you. It builds character. BK- thanks for the AWESOME pictures! Love it!

Family Date Night

Tonight was Friday night and this night is usually reserved for Joey and I to go on a date. However, we just went out two days ago for our anniversary so we decided to have a family date night instead. The kids were SO happy to get to go and do something out of the house! We decided to head over to Golfland where we proceeded to eat some surprisingly tasty pizza, played video games and a round of goofy golfing. Of course, the boys are so competitive that we can't just play for fun...there has to be a prize! After much debate, it was agreed that the winner of the 18 holes would NOT have to participate in the weekly Saturday chores in the morning. The winner could watch TV or play videogames while the rest of us do all the cleaning. This was a MAJOR prize for our kids...who think that Saturday morning chores are a horrible form of torture. I'm a big fan of Saturday mornings...but that's just me. We proceeded to start the game and right off the bat Drey was out of the running for the prize. He was so frustrated with himself so he announced that he was just playing for "fun". He wasn't really "trying" to win. That's why he wasn't doing well. He wasn't "trying." It was pretty funny! By the end it was a close call between Joey and Gage. Gage wanted it SO bad but Joey came through for me and won the game! YES! I have all my slaves...I mean workers in the morning! It would be especially hard to lose Gage who does jobs that the other kids are too young to do. It was a fun night and the kids are all worn out. They went right to bed when we got home with no stalling or complaints. That was worth it right there!

Happy 15th Anniversary!

On July 9th, 1993 two dorky kids went into the temple in Mesa, Arizona and were sealed for time and all eternity. I was 18 and Joey was 23. First of all, who gets married at 18 years old!!?? I started dating him when I was 17! My girls better never try to pull a stunt like that! But I had to do what I had to do to be able to snag Joey for myself. My mom told me "Don't date a return missionary unless you're ready to get married." I was like "Oh brother, Mom. It's just a date. There's no way I'm getting married." A year later I was putting on my wedding dress! Turns out Mom wasn't as clueless as I thought! I can hardly believe that it's been 15 years since that day! I remember it like it was yesterday. Literally. Some things you just don't forget. I remember crying so hard during the ceremony...uncontrollably...I couldn't stop. I was so mad because I had spent so much time on getting my makeup just perfect! And then I had to go take pictures right after! It was just so overwhelming. It still is if I really think hard about it. Eternity is a long time after all. We had a great day today...just hanging out..just the two of us. Today is also my parents 37th wedding anniversary! Yes, we got married on the same day as them..just 22 years later. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Fourth of July BBQ /Swim Party/ Birthday Party

For the Fourth of July we did something different this year. For the past few years we have gotten together with my side of the family so this year we celebrated with Joey's family. We had a BBQ at Granny and Pops house and had fun swimming and eating and eating and then we decided to eat. It was also Lexi's B-day so the kids got to hit on a pinata and LOADED up on candy. Thanks Nick and Coartney! My kids have been on a sugar high ever since! I finally had to hide the candy so they didn't go into a sugar coma. I think a fun time was had by all...even though the heat was unbearable! I must be getting heat sensitivity in my old age because I never remember whining so much about the heat as I have this year!

Delly thought it was pretty funny to swim with Papa Joe! That was a first for her!Thanks Cindy for bringing the poppers and other fun noise makers! We saw those in Sam's Club and Drey begged for them but I'm a mean Mom and wouldn't buy them. He was so happy that he got to explode things after all!