TURNING 8...

CALEB IS 8!!

Caleb turning 8 means he is still alive, really.

All the disaster, hyper boy behavior, weird teacher emails, and memorable parent teacher conferences has finally led him to the age of accountability.  I love my blonde hair blue eye boy.  The one that "Tell's joke at inappropriate times"  but still brings me notes late at night with a picture that says I love you.  He has changed my life, forever and always.

 

Onto life...Ainsley goes to school looking like this.  And comes home looking like something that doesn't have a home!!  Same smile, always happy and laughing while walking through the door but woooooo is she a mess.  For a school without an art program I wonder what goes on there.  It looks like she might wrestle or something as well.  When I asked her she says in an exciting voice with hand movement "IT JUST GETS SO CRAZY DURING NAP TIME AND ON THE TIRE SWING!!"

 Tate and I have a routine.  On Friday we mow.  We stare at the mower and the lawn for a while, talk about mowing, talk about cleaning out the mower, BUT we mow eventually.  This Friday we had a long list of things to do before Caleb's big party and so Tate wanted to get right to work. No talking he said.  He even cleaning out the bottom of the mower for me!  That was nice!

 

 Caleb's party was tricky.  Our location makes it interesting because we are in a different school district for the kids we go to church with and a different city then the kids we go to school with.  So, Caleb handed out invites but few said they were coming.  Andy and I were exited to have a low key party.  Decorate your own giant cupcakes, have the boys make giant pizza's, do some boy games...ya...when 17 8 year olds showed up...crazy imploded.  Luckily I do crazy well and other kids (not my own) think I am PRETTY COOL!   

 Water balloons are always fun, thankfully Gretchen stuck around!

Once all the boys were wet they weren't smelling so good...didn't think that through.  All in all it went fine!  The science explosion was the best part!  Happy Birthday Caleb!  You are 8!

 

(This is the first party I didn't have to make special frosting...it was awesome, it was nice not to have any boys with allergies...yahoo, to this age group!!!  Although, I did make special cupcakes)- I wonder if it is a year thing or something... maybe a boy thing?  One year there is major food allergies one year there isn't?

~On Saturday I took Caleb and his friend to the store to spend Caleb's birthday money.  We stopped by the pet store.  We are considering a lizard and it was dog adoption day so I wanted to just look.  His best friend Nathan has a pretty nice tan, brown hair, brown eyes.  We were walking around and the lady said would you and your sons be interested in dog adoption.  I said...oh, this is my son and his friend.  But she misunderstood and thought because Caleb looks nothing like me that the friend was mine...the boys thought that was the funniest thing and pretty much laughed for 10 minutes and the entire car ride after that!  While Caleb might look just like Andy and act just like him, and dress in a similar way one day someone is going to say...that Caleb G. looks just like his mom!  One day!   



Back to School

I love reading everyone's back to school posts.  The ones that say...

I wish summer was a month longer so I could spend more time with my kids or similar wonderful things like that!  I really do.   While I to enjoy time with my children I wonder if summer is some sort of cruel punishment to test my limits, for go all my rules and boundaries, and make me wish we had cable.  

I can blame it on not having a neighborhood pool (what kind of subdivision doesn't have a neighborhood pool?!!), I can blame it on the chiggers (WOOOO, I mean they are out of control), but mostly I think we missed our pals this summer.  Actually, let me take that back.  My kids had plenty of pals...I missed mine.  So, summer was fun, the weather was perfect, we enjoyed watching the hot air balloons from time to time, playing a lot of uno, headbands, and trouble, and best of all playing kick ball!  I did make it all summer making everything from scratch... snacks, breakfast, lunch, and dinner...I almost caved but I made it!

Getting ready for the first day of school was pretty easy!  I took the kids over to Missouri for tax free weekend (I feel like Kansas should really jump on board...I mean really!!!) for school supplies.  It was crazy!  All in all we needed 38 glue sticks and 80 pencils, I didn't have to sharpen them this year though!  The kids backpacks were good from last year and since it snowed through May and they wore swimsuits all summer so their clothes were in mint condition!  Yay me!  Aubrey did need new boots this year and since her boots never make it through the year we decided to go in a different direction, cowgirl boots.  

Taking the kids to the Western store was like being in Wyoming all over again!  It even smelt like Wyoming! It was fun for the kids to look around and it was right next to the Chopper restaurant to so the boys looked at the the cool motorcycles and stuff.  Too bad there wasn't a store that spelt like Florida!  The kids made end of summer wishes by throwing coins in the fountains...then they told me their wishes.  They really aim high...Caleb wish for a slushie, Tate wished for gum, Ainsley wished for a really great day, and Aubrey wished for an extra coin at Chuck-e-Cheese... easy to please these kids are!!

 

First Day of school!  Aubrey 3rd grade. Caleb 2nd grade!

 Ainsley's first day of kindergarten!!  She started the day after Aubrey and Caleb.  To say she was excited was an understatement!  Since all the the kids teachers were new to the elementary this year (due to the new schools being built) they didn't find out their teachers until last minute.  Ainsley was still holding out hope that it was going to be her preschool teacher but once she met her new teacher she was okay!  I know she will have a great year...leaving behind an incredible organization/teacher that we have known so long will be new for us Griners! If anyone can do it, its Ainlsey!

 Ainsley is leaving behind floppy..it wont be in her backpack or in the car...big step!  When she got off the bus I asked her how her day was and she said, IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME!  I asked her what she did and she said "I got 2 recesses and I got to eat lunch!"  Add on that she got to ride the bus...and all of her dreams just came true in one day!

It is just me and Tate for the next two years!  I let him pick our activities for the day.  He picked the park on the lake.  The weather was kind of weird, a bit chilly!  I think he was kind of glad to have our regular routine back!

So... back to homework, spelling, and teachers emails.  A, B and C days.  Spirit Days, Pajama Days, and fall will come before we know it!  They already had me sign up for parent teacher conference!  It really only took one day to get back in the swing of things like nothing has changed...they get on the bus at they same time but due to the new school they get home 30 minutes later!  Oh boy!  They love their teachers, friends, and it looks like another fun year...I am extremely grateful that I do not have to sit in car line, and so is Tate!  Our first year, car line free! 

*Congrats to my brother aka "the Spencer Clark family" and their new addition, a boy. so wonderful!
*Congrats to my little sister aka "the Zorhobyan family" she is having a girl and they bought their first house!!
*Congrats to A and her sweet new ride!

Tate is 4!!!

4 on the 4th!!!

Our Tate is 4.

Our youngest, our bravest, and often times our most understanding.

It is so funny to think that Tate is turning 4.  That so much time has past.  That all those toddler phases are just done, gone.  As a mother THIS part of my life is over and I am taking a step forward.  Hu, wow.  I feel really grateful for this little boy!

Being 4 means...he is a sunbeam.

He like fruit.  Blueberries, banana's, strawberries...if we are at the store and I tell him he can pick anything he wants and he will go strait to the banana's.

He rarely cries.  If he falls, that's what it is. He gets up and grabs a stick or goes down a slide.

He tells me he loves me often and out of no where, it's the best part of my hour!

He always has things in his pockets...rocks, soda tabs, broken sticks, cars.

He loves to explore.  He loves the airport park.  He loves Ainlsey. 

He loves to catch turtles and tree frogs.  He like to pick purple flower weeds for me.

He loves dogs and his stuffed wiener dog. 

He hates "bean greens" and peas.  He talks really loud.  Ryan and Joshua are his friends.  He loves his sleepovers at Grandma's and spending time with his Grandpa.  It is pretty much the highlight of his entire 2013 year.

One night when Tate wasn't feeling good I sang him to sleep singing Little Mermaids "Part of Your World"..he will never admit it, nor will he let me do it again, but some times he likes pretty things too...(maybe it is a every 4 years kind of a thing)

He loves to ride his bike.  He is constantly making a mess but always has to wear clean clothes so he is always without clothes....boy, it is hard to be 4!!

He is good at sharing, loves going to the zoo, and loves batman.

I think we will keep him!

 By mid summer he was swimming without a life jacket and going off the diving board!  The pre-teens and teenager provided quite a cheering section for him!

 Tate had a Monster's Inc. Party! 

Once again my dairy free cupcakes got no complains...I didn't have to do the egg and wheat again so that was nice.  I also find that if you do not tell the kids in advance that different change in ingredient they never know the difference!

 GRRRR!

 Pin the Eye on Mike!

 Monsters and Caleb...

Happy Birthday Tate!  We love you! 

 

*It has been a funky summer with the weather being so so and the chiggers being totally out of control.  I taught the kids how to play kickball for family night!  That was hilarious it was Tate and me vs Caleb, Ainlsey, and Aubrey!  Tate is a beast and I will be on his team any time!

*Uno...the kids are getting really good.  We had a family over last Saturday.  Andy is in a band with the husband so we thought it would be nice to get together and the husband could play and everyone else could just relax.  You could hear the music from the basement while I was playing Uno with the kids in the dinning room....at the same time in unison all the children (mine and theirs) broke out sing a Weezer song while playing an intense game of Uno.  I can only imagine the memories my children will have when they grow up!!!

 

*School starts in 10 days.  Are we ready... we are packed. We get the bus line up Monday and new teachers soon.  This year will be so fun!