Babysitting

Owen 6 months and Roderick 19 months

Last weekend my sister (Annette) and her husband (Rod) celebrated their 10th anniversary. They have 4 children ages 10, 6, 19 months, and 6 months. This was the first time Annette and Rod have been out together alone in over a year. I dont get to see my nephews very often, so I jumped at the chance to watch them. WHEW!!!! What a night, I forgot how much work a toddler and an infant are. They are such sweet boys, but none the less BOYS. Roderick was in to everything and Owen always needed attention. This picture above is the only quiet 20min. I had. Dont they look like angels. I will definitely watch them again........ next year.

Weekend Vacation

Marissa, Gracie, and Austin
Marissa
Gracie and Haley
Joe doing a flip
Joe holding Austin up by his life jacket

We have soooo much fun at the lake. It is the one thing I know we will do together as a family. When we are at home the kids seem to run here and there playing with their friends, Joe has work outside to do and I have my stuff to do. So it is a great blessing to be able to go to the lake to get away. This trip my older sister brought up our nieces (our little sisters girls) and they love playing with Gracie and Austin. We stayed at the Dixie Haven Resort which is a 5 room building, somewhat like a hotel but with kitchenettes. We stayed for 2 days and docked our boat on the water. I forgot my camera so these pictures were taken by my sister and brother in law. We hope to be able to leave our boat docked up there next year so we don't have to take it back and forth. We had breakfast in the room, subway for lunch on the water, and to a restaurant for supper. Both evenings we (Joe) built a fire in the fire pit and sat for hours talking and laughing. Joe's parents came up Sat. and also found a room in Webster to stay for the night. The next day we took them for a boat ride and tried to teach Gracie to ski, but she needed help in the water and it was way to cold for Joe or I to get in the water, for some reason my kiddos don't care what the water temperature is. : ) We bought disposable camera's so as soon as I get them developed maybe I can post more pics.

1st day of Pre K

Today was the day. It went very well, he was so excited to go to school. School started at 12:30pm and he didn't want to be late so he was up by 7:30am. I tried to tell him there were many hours before school started but he was too excited. By 9:30am he was bathed, dressed, and backpack on. The 3rd picture of him is me telling him he still had 1 1/2 hrs before school started. He was not happy. When I picked him up I asked him if he liked it he said "yes" I said "do you want to go back again" he said "yeah, like right now."

I did well also, for those of you who were wondering. There was a bit of emptiness as I left his room, but I kept it together.

BANGS!

Gracie has not had bangs since she was 6 yrs old. Last night she said "I want bangs" and I said " ok, lets do it." Ta - Da!

Soccer Game Part 2

Kicking the ball

Running for the ball

Getting in on the action

Kicking it from the sideline

Receiving his "white star" for "Christ like"

He played better this weekend. It wasn't as hot and he had a better night's sleep. They color code the goals with the color of their jerseys so they know what goal to kick to. (blue or grey) He received the white star because he helped one of his fellow teammates up after being pushed to the ground. They all love getting to see what color of star they are going to get. They get the hugest smile and are so proud.

Makin' Biscuits

Austin is always ready to bake. Unfortunatly his mother is not a very good baker, I need to teach him how to cook. He loves measuring out the ingredients, and rolling out the dough. Check out my wonderful biscuit cutter. (the orange cup). He thought I was silly when I put flour on our faces. I told him that way others knew we were hard at work, or just messy.

Cinnamon at the Lake

Cinnamon and Ginger, the friend she made at the lake

This was Cinnamon's first time with us at the lake. She wasn't sure what to do on the boat she kept trying to put her paw out. We really was not sure if she would even like the water, because she hates it when the kids spray her with the hose and she will not get in the little pool we have for her. The 3rd picture is of her first steps in the water. The people who parked their boat next to ours had this life jacket for her to try. We thought maybe she would not be as afraid. The 4th picture is her doggie paddling back to shore very quickly. She did not like being where she couldn't touch. (just like a child : ) ) I dont know if we will take her again or not. Joe says "no". He didnt like cleaning up all the dog hair in the boat.