Photo heavy blog

I’m realizing this blog is pretty photo heavy lately. I have a TON on my mind, but not much makes it to the blog anymore. I leave my computer off during the days for the most part, so when I turn it on every few nights and try to blog I usually find myself mindless. Uploading photos is an easy way out… and probably what most of you want anyway! :) Maybe when we eventually settle into a fall routine I’ll have more brain power, or maybe not. We’ll have to see. For now we are enjoying the cooling weather and the kids have started talking about jumping in the leaves again. I do believe fall weather has arrived.

Eve

I took pictures off the camera today and found they were all of Eve! Guess that’s what happens when Lex spends all day in school.

all dolled up

Eve, all dolled up :)

tiny toes

She was sitting on her feet, playing with the trains, and I couldn't resist her adorable toes. The picture barely captures the total sweetness of her little pile of toes.

love for grandpa tom

Love for Grandpa Tom

more love

even more love

Eve likes to make movies with the camera. Every time I turn it on she asks if we can make a movie, however she seems to forget what that actually means, so movies of her lately start with her smiling and me reminding her that she has to do something if we make a movie :) Here she is, doing something.

First week of kindergarten

Lex successfully completed his first week of kindergarten! Go Lex! He is exhausted and told me that he wants to sleep all day tomorrow. We’ll see about that! His teacher sent home an interesting packet of information today. Apparently they had a fire drill and lock down drill this week. He told me about the lock down drill, but then said he was too tired to tell me anything else :) The letter had lots of information that I was hoping to learn, such as what he does each day for activities (library, art, etc.) and what those teachers’ names are. He doesn’t always remember them. We talked to the bus driver this afternoon and learned his name. I also got an email from another parent today asking if I’d help with the walk/bike to school Thursdays. I think I will! :)

We are ready for a slow three day weekend and then hopefully we can start settling in to a school year routine. Eve starts preschool on the 14th and that will bring more changes, but I think she’ll love it. I’m ready for the routine to set in and the pace to slow down. But mostly I’m thrilled that Lex loves school!

Driving a Prius!

Have you heard the expression, “when it rains, it pours?” Well we have some serious weather over here!! The latest downpour, and hopefully the last, is that our 10yr old Saturn needed to be replaced. Alan drove home Tuesday night with loud rattling noises and other not right stuff. Brought it to the mechanic and was given a fatal diagnosis. Something about metal flecks in the engine… or something. So we needed to buy a new car, asap. This is a tough job as it is, but add in additional bankruptcy paperwork and the impending Labor Day long weekend and we were sweating this process. Fortunately Alan was able to find a good car and work a good deal, then our credit union and bankruptcy people were quick moving, and we were able to buy the car at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon! Whew! Mostly a relief that we don’t have to think about this for three days and then continue the process on Tuesday. Now we can breath and maybe even relax for a few minutes before we have to deal with something else.

new car

Our shiney new (to us) car.

reading the manual

Happy Alan reading the manual to Eve.

I also added a few new quotes from the kids.

Walk/bike to school day

walking to school

Thursdays are walk/bike to school day in our district. With that in mind Alan and Lex set off to walk to school. Lex, Eve and I did the walk on Tuesday as well, but I underestimated the time (or underestimated how slow the kids walk!) and we were late for school, so Lex was a little nervous to try it again. They got out the door nice and early (and didn’t have Eve to slow them down) and made it to school right on time. We may try a family walk tomorrow. Leaving very early! :)

The trees are gone!

missing trees

See the two stumps just right of center? One has a rather large rock on it. There used to be rather large pine trees there. Now we have sunshine.

wood pile

I don't think this wood pile is properly stacked. That will be a project for another day.

from the backyard

From the backyard, looking towards the street, with our new sunny patch of lawn in the front right.

maple tree

He also trimmed many limbs from this maple tree. Leaves on the limbs were gently resting on the roof. For some reason insurance considers that to be dangerous :)

First day of kindergarten

Today was the big day! Guess what?! He did awesome! He woke up this morning and announced that he would like to stay home with me today and go to school next week. :) After I explained that things don’t really work that way he decide to be excited for school. Did his morning routine, played, and happily got in the car when it was time to go. He got a bit nervous again when we got to school and he saw all the cars. “Mom, there really are a lot of people here today.” His feet started to drag as we got closer to the classroom, but once we got in he hung up his bag, said good morning to his teacher and answered her questions, and then went to play. No tears, no fuss. I had to go ask for a hug goodbye. It was awesome. I wonder how long it will last :)

lunch

First day of school lunch: peanut butter and homemade blueberry jam on homemade whole wheat bread, watermelon, pineapple sunshine muffins, and carrot sticks. His choice and he loved it!

playing

I asked him several times if he would pose for a first day of school picture and each time he politely declined. I decided not to force the issue, so this is what we have instead. I'm pretty sure the girl next to him is his new friend.

puzzle

Nothing like a good puzzle to start your morning off right!

I was super nervous about the bus, as you know, but I talked to the lady in the office this morning in charge of bus stuff and she (mostly) clarified things for me. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when Eve and I went out at 3pm and the bus came, stopped, and dropped off Lex. Aaahhh… survived the first day! :) He apparently had a blast. He told me all the things he did and he had recess and lunch and even made a friend. He said over and over how much fun he had. He’s so sweet! He even asked if he can ride the bus in the morning too… which I’ll have to think about. This week we are sticking to the mommy drop-off routine.

off the bus

He made it home, safe and sound! Whew!! Doesn't he look so tiny compared to the bus? :)

into the house

All the way up the street he kept telling me how much fun he had and how tired he was. I thought we could sit outside and watch the tree guys work, but he wanted nothing more than to go into his house and relax. Can't argue with that.

bento box snacks

Lex decided he wanted to finish his lunch for afternoon snack. Works for me! Eve decided she wanted a bento box snack as well, so I threw a few things in her lunch box and she was thrilled.

watching through the window

We spent a lot of the afternoon watching the tree guys through the window. The kids didn't want to go outside (too noisy), but it was pretty cool to watch the work. They will be back tomorrow to finish the job and I'll post pics then.

More pictures, more life

I feel like my posts are kind of dull lately. Nothing exciting or deep, just pictures. Life is busy for some reason. Maybe it will slow down after school starts tomorrow. Yes…. TOMORROW!!! Eek! I was not thrilled with the kindergarten orientation on Friday. It was nice to see the classroom and other families, but we learned nothing. NOTHING! I still don’t even know what bus Lex will be coming home on tomorrow. The schedule was in the paper this weekend but none of the busses appear to stop near us on the way home. The people at orientation on Friday didn’t know. I’m going to be planting myself in the main office Monday morning until someone can tell me which bus he will be on and where it will drop him off. You’d think they would know that! And have a little sympathy for us first time parents! We worry. Lex, on the other hand, seems fairly indifferent to the whole thing. Not excited, but not outwardly nervous. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow though.

I was hoping to have a calm, quiet weekend so he would be rested and ready for school, but instead we had a busy few days. I was looking at the pictures on my camera and realized just how busy we’ve been.

Thursday we went to the science museum. The kids are so funny and often gravitate to the computers. Eve doesn’t even know what she’s doing, but she gets all excited when she finds the “back” button :)

Eve on the computer

Lex

Lex loves this... ball machine. I have no idea what it is really called. It's neat to see how his interest in things changes over the years. He has always loved this, but when he was younger it was just cool to watch, but now he works really hard to figure it out. It's neat to watch him.

Globe computer

This is an awesome exhibit! There is a computer nearby that you can change settings, like volcanic activity, or climate changes, and it changes this globe. Hard to explain, but it's awesome!

Fixing the computer

The highlight of the day... watching an employee reboot the computer. :)

Friday was orientation. I was hoping to learn about their daily schedule, how the lunch process works, which bus he would be one, etc… but in fact I learned next to nothing. Oh well. I guess we’ll learn all that soon enough!

On the bus

Lex on the bus. We got a bus ride at the end of orientation. This is his nervous smile.

Lex on the jungle gym

This was probably his favorite part of orientation. Playing on the playground afterwards! :) I think he will enjoy recess.

Upside down Eve

Upside down Eve

On the swings

The boy in the middle was in Lex's pre-k class. He is in the other kindergarten, but they'll see each other at lunch and recess.

Friday afternoon…

Kids on the computer

Aren't they adorable!!! Lex was reading to Eve and after awhile they switched seats and he helped her play the games. I love them!!

On Saturday we went to Pease airport to see the Blue Angels fly. It was hectic and chaotic getting there (early morning, long drive, traffic… and I forgot the tickets!), but once we finally arrived and made it through security (which was a couple of boy scout volunteers!), then we had fun. The kids explored the planes and ran around. We followed close behind.

Holding hands at the airshow

Lex and Eve holding hands at the airshow while we waited in line to board a refueler plane.

Watching the trampolines

We spent a lot of money to get to this event, so we decided to conserve cash. Here are my poor pathetic kids wishing they too could go on the pricey fair rides. They got mad at me, but I was able to distract them with a PB&J sandwhich :)

Noisy event

The airshow was noisy!!

Sweet Eve

Sweet Eve. She did a great job, even though she was hot and missed her nap. She ended up falling asleep in the stroller on the way back to the car. We parked miles (2.1 according to Alan's GPS) away and hoofed it to the show and back.

Me and Eve

Under the wing

It was neat to see everyone lined up in the shade. Every plane had piles of people under it, trying to get out of the sun. I wonder if they all scooted back or forward every now and again as the sun moved across the sky. That would have been funny to see. :)

Earphones

Grampy Don brought along some earphones for the kids to try. Lex was hesitant at first, but after hearing a few eardrum bursting planes go by he decided to give them a try :)

The royal family

The royal family arrives. Wait, that's just my family! Lex decided his favorite part of the day was getting to see the inside of a Delta plane.

I have a few pictures of the planes too, but nothing spectacular and I think this post has enough photos already.

Today we had a nice little visit from Molly and Julie. Jim ran in a half marathon nearby (go Jim!!) so Julie and Molly came to visit us. It was fun. The kids are so cute together.

Big pile on Lex

Big pile on Lex

Hmm… my photo history from the camera tells me that that’s all we’ve done in the past few days. I’m sure I had a few deep thoughts in there and I bet the kids had a cute quote or two, but alas, they have been forgotten. I’m sure you’ll get some fascinating (or not!) kindergarten updates in the next few days.

Oh, also, rumor has it the trees are coming down tomorrow. Stay tuned for some sunny lawn pics!