First day of school

 The first day of school is here and this Momma doesn't know what to do with herself.  Everyone is so excited to be attending school...in person...with NO MASK in sight!  No more for my kiddos!

Lorelai is now in the 4th grade! She continues to amaze me with her intelligence and ambition in school.  I am so excited for her to get to see many friends today!  She has a new backpack and sporting the one shoulder, totally casual, look.

Evelyn is now in 2nd grade! She continues to be my sweetest little soul and I hope this school year brings her so much happiness.

Look how excited this big girl is for KINDERGARTEN!  Our goal this summer was to get her reading BEFORE school started and I think we accomplished that.  She is really starting to enjoy reading and progressing quickly!  It's a good head start to the year!

How can my little boy be headed off to his first ever first day of school?  He will be going part time, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  This will provide a good break for me to get chores and errands done but I will miss this little boy.  

Joseph picked out a new Monster Truck backpack and he was ready to go, waiting by the door, 20 minutes ahead of time.

His sweet face... He's so proud to go to school.

This isn't the best picture but it just happened so quickly.  In a moment it was done.  The whole family dropped Joseph off at school first.  We wanted to rally behind him and see him go.  Joseph knows Mrs. Sherry, the preschool director, because he saw her all last year when Scarlet attended preschool.  He walked right up to her, gave her the BIGGEST hug, and was ready to go.  She walked him to his cubby and he never looked back.  His face was serious so I think he was a little nervous, but he NEVER wavered.  So brave...and off goes my baby to school.  

Chuckwagon

 We donned our cowboy boots and headed to the Chuckwagon for dinner. Always a good time!

Evelyn got the most into her western wear.  She insisted on wearing a full get up and she walked around the house walking and talking like a cowgirl

Evelyn's in JAIL!

Joseph loves his trains

Lorelai went to the shooting gallery.  With NO help, she hit the target with all six of her shots!

Evelyn did get a little assistance with her shooting but she did well too!

Time for dinner and a show!

Perfect Summer day

What a perfect summer day!  We went out on a friend's boat on Navajo Lake in New Mexico.  We swam and the kids went tubing.  When we got home we capped off the night with a firepit and smores. I remember tubing as a kid and getting flung off the tube, thinking it was the most fun thing in the whole world.  I think I did pretty good watching them considering the last time we went tubing was 4 years ago in Idaho and Evelyn hit a bump and did a back flip off the tube into the freezing water.  It's so different as a parent! 

Lorelai is on the far right, Evelyn is sitting next to her...tubing with their friends!

The little kids enjoyed it too.

Burnt to a crisp

July wrap-up…

 Pictures from July...

This little boy just can't hang with summer vacation.  He is exhausted every day after playing so hard

Passed out...

Even with a 2+ hr nap...he's a tired little boy

Scarlet woke up and put on a pretty dress.  She asked Joseph if he liked it and when he said, "yes" it just made her day.  She loves to be told she's pretty.

Summer hotdogs...yes please!

She's going to be trouble

I love their imaginative play

A new motorized scooter that Evelyn got for her birthday...what could go wrong?

All the kids love the new Keva Planks Evelyn got for her birthday.  

She's making a ball ramp

Yes, this tower is structurally sound

This little boy is starting preschool at the end of August.  He picked out a monster truck backpack and is so proud!

Daddy wanted some FatBoy ice cream sandwiches from the grocery store, but when you work late sometimes the kids get to them first!

Bruno is such a good dog with the kids

Working on a Lego alligator and boat

My heart soars when Evelyn gets new books for her birthday and they replace her favorite stuffed animal on her bed.  I love that she loves books

My little hummingbird lover.  Our feeders are up and the birds are back.  We get about ten zooming around our backyard pretty much all day and Lorelai just likes to sit, read, and watch them.  She's surrounded!

He's trying to argue that he's NOT in my garden...

Sometimes you need a headlamp while eating breakfast

Lorelai just looks so big in this picture... where did the time go?

BB gun shooting practice with Dad

No help from Dad, Lorelai hit her mark!

Lorelai is also my bug whisperer...

Beautiful moth that matches Lorelai's shirt

Ever watchful

The face you make when you win family game night not once...

...not twice...

...but THREE times in a row!  Undefeated!