Long time coming...

Ok, so I'm not going to win any mom points for posting this a month after school started, but hey...at least I got it up here, right? :)  And anyone who knows Will knows that he and school have been a long time coming -- and I'm not sure that school knows quite what hit it!:)

Here goes our little big guy -- not hesitating a moment as he walked away from me and off into kinder - I barely got him to stop long enough to take a picture.

Since this is a little on the late side, let's just say I was waiting to give a true beginning of the year update.  No surprise, it's going great!  Will has told us that he's not sure that school has actually started yet...poor teacher...hopefully things pick up for him soon. :)

Love my guy -- so excited to start this new adventure with him!

60 + 80 = 32

From this...

to this!

This summer's trip to Nebraska was a little more of a whirlwind than normal, but all for a great reason!  Grandma and Grandpa had a few reasons to celebrate and we certainly didn't want to miss it -- 80th birthdays and a 60th wedding anniversary with their now family of ... 32?!? Aren't we a crew?:)

So in order to be in Farnam for the big day we made a quick flight to Denver, took advantage of the fantastic hospitality of Amber and Justin and drove out with them to the big day.  It was a whirlwind of a weekend but worth every minute of it.

Will got a chance to learn a little football...

And of course a little about farming.  Thanks Andrew!

The little ladies were smart to stay far away from the crazy football game and stuck to learning a few tailgating...I mean, yard games. :)

 

 I'd say the day was a success!  A line out the door of people waiting to get inside to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa...just a few hundred of their closest friends.

So glad we were able to be a part of this special day and a rare chance to be with so many people that mean so much to us.  Can't wait til next time. :)

Ahhh and Awwww!

Yep, it's that time of year.  The moment when I realize how far behind I am in keeping up with posting and pictures but at the same time realizing any kind of time that I would have to do it is gone.  Yep.  School has started.

Sooo...rather than tackle some massive list of things I would like to post about, I've decided I'll just try to do some short and sweet posts for a few days and attempt to get caught up.  Big tasks are always better accomplished in small chunks, right?  That's what I tell my students anyway...time to practice what I teach. :)

Short and sweet.  Emphasis on the sweet this time.  We were able to meet our precious cousin Oliver this summer.  I can not even describe how absolutely adorable he is.  Love this little guy and can't wait to see him again SOON.  Ollie -- talk to your mom about that, k?

My little people were beyond infatuated with the newest member of the family and took every opportunity to try and hold him.  Luckily his mama his trusting!

B absolutely adored Oliver...she is still talking about "her baby" a month later.  If I had to guess I think he was fond of her too. :)

K -- check back soon -- I am determined to catch up!

B's Bubble Bash!

No babies here!  We have a big girl in the house now -- the big 2, that is.  And as you can see, we're pretty pumped about it. :)

Last Saturday was our sweet girl's 2nd birthday -- how is that possible?  We had a great time with on of her current favorite things -- bubbles!  And I gotta say, a great party for a group of big and little kids alike.  I'm not sure who had more fun -- the little ones or the grown ups!

We started the day with letting her see her gift from us -- her very own playhouse!  

Later in the morning we had a little party to celebrate the big day.  And you know I had to keep with the theme in our snacks for the day -- so all kinds of things "popped."  A little popcorn, popped chips, cake pops...we also had circle cut sandwiches, bubble pasta, and designed by big brother -- a fruit salad with all bubble shaped fruit. :)

We didn't forget the big people either in our theme...;)

A little something for the little ones to play with -- can't have enough bubbles! 

Then it was time for all things bubbles!  The biggest hit was definitely the giant bubble maker.  Best $4 ever spent!  Riley got really good at it by the end of the party. :)

We experimented with some homemade bubble mix -- and made sure we had plenty of it ready to go with lots of bubble wand options along with it.  And of course it wouldn't be complete without a bubble machine, right? :)

Lots of time with friends in the pool too, of course.  I'm not sure two kids could love each other as much as Elyse and Will do, but I think these two might make a run for it.  When they aren't mad at each other for not sharing (gotta love friends at this age...) they do love each other -- and here's a litte proof. 

No shortage of presents for the birthday girl!

Every time we got pulled out another present she got really excited about opening the card.  Then as soon as I told her who it was from she would run over and give them back their card and say "thank you!"

There is a whole lot of pink in my house right now -- and I'm not sure if it was bought because they thought she would like it or everyone wanted to watch me squirm...but either way they got their wish! 

A little castle for the princess...

She's 2!  

Thank you, thank you to all who love us near and far -- whether you blew bubbles, sent a message, had a present delivered, called...love was felt in many ways all week.  We are a lucky bunch. ;)

The first of many...

We have a graduate!  Mr. Will had his first graduation ceremony at the end of the school year to mark the end of his PreK days and the beginning of so much more.  He was such a proud little grad -- it's hard to believe that we have a kindergartener in the house, but it's official!

He had a few fans in the audience. :)

Coming in...and so excited to find us and wave.  I love that one of his teachers is just as excited right behind him trying to snag a pic.  Such a testament to how much they have loved and cared for him this year.

Daddy and B (And more excited picture taking in the background).  Love ya Aunt B. :)

Yay Will!  I hope he could hear her cheering -- she was so excited! 

The graduates. :)

So big.  

Yay Will!  

No celebration would be complete without a little pic and hug with his main squeeze(s) of course. 

The obligatory attempt at a family shot...we'll get one right one of these days.

And finally, the ladies that truly deserve being celebrated.  These wonderful women have cared for our sweet boy all year and have done an outstanding job molding him into a little guy ready to take on kindergarten.  We will all miss them as we move on to this next journey...but can't wait to see what it has in store.  Look out!

Lake days

Ahhhh....summer.  

Even though both Todd and I decided to work this summer (why?  great question!) it is still summer!  And although we are working (not taking that term tooooo seriously, I mean, we do still get three day weekends til August) we are still taking time for some good old fashion summer fun.  

To kick off the summer season we were fortunate to join the Simmons crew on a trip to Shreveport for a weekend of lake fun.  It was the first time we were all there together as families of four and was so much fun -- especially for the big kids.

I am sure there will come a day that they don't absolutely adore each other the way they do now, and if that's the case, we have lots of ammo to embarrass them with when that day comes. :)

The lake lady.  Don't kid yourself.  Before this picture was taken she had a full out fit for a good part of a boat ride about putting that life jacket on.  She is a fashionable little gal -- maybe it didn't go with her outfit.  However, once she accepted the required accessory, she asked to put it back on every time she got the chance.

 While we were there we also decided to go check out the alligator farm that isn't too far from the lake.  They had so much more than alligators!  It was great for the kids -- all kinds of animals to look at and lots of room to run around and check things out.  

Of course the big kids couldn't pass up an opportunity for a pony ride.

By total luck we were standing in the exact right spot to get a chance to touch a real alligator -- our little  vets were taking it all in....

And the littles decided it was better to check the alligators out from a little farther distance...

It was an awesome weekend with great people.  Til next time...