Lake Tahoe

Over Labor Day Weekend we spent a day at Kings Beach in Lake Tahoe with our friends the Krupp's. It was so beautiful and SO much fun. The highlight for the kids was definitely the crawdads, yuck! The Krupp's brought hot dogs and strings to go fishing for crawdads and caught so many of them. Conner loved it! So we had to go for a walk to the docks and try to catch some ourselves. Unfortunately, me & Conner were unsuccessful, but it was fun to try. Until some of the kids dropped a couple crawdads next to our hineys, we almost fell overboard trying to get away, they crawl really fast! Sienna spent most of the day either swimming around on the surfboard, or pushing the boys in the boat. I don't think that girl ever got out of the water. When Raimi busted out her fancy camera, Sienna kept asking to have her picture taken in several different poses. So then Conner followed suit. Sorry Raimi for all the pictures you were forced to take of these two! Braden doesn't like water. We go to the beach every year and he never sets foot in the ocean. He digs in the dirt mostly. So I almost died of shock when this happened... Our family, Conner never could get that right eye to open. :o) Thank you to the Krupp's for inviting us on your outing. It was a great trip and I hope we get to join you again another day.

Band

For R.J.'s elective in school, he chose band. He played the trumpet last year and really liked it. However, his new band teacher convinced him to switch to the trombone, and for some reason, this makes me giggle, I don't know why. But no one else was playing it, and the school had an instrument we could borrow, so I decided to go with it. Now that R.J. is playing the trombone, it has freed up the trumpet and Braden has decided he wants to give it a try. He's had one band practice so far, and declares that he can make the loudest sound out of everyone in the band! Good job, Braden.

I in a Boat!

A little while ago, Conner was taking a "nap." I heard him start screaming for me, and thought something was wrong. I ran up stairs, burst into his bedroom, and there he was, sitting in a basket, wearing his army uniform and yells, "I in a boat, Mom!!" I couldn't help laughing. And somehow the Army uniform does sort of look like a captain's uniform, don't you think? I also thought it was cute that he was actually able to get it on, even the jacket is buttoned, sort of, but he forgot the zipper. I think he's so cute. :o)

1st Day of School

This year is a big one for R.J., starting middle school. It's weird for me, and yes, I was only 12 when he was born. The night before school started, we went to registration, got his schedule and wrote a dozen checks for a gillion dollars for all the things he needed to make his year successful. He is so excited about middle school, the independence, having a phone, riding the bus, running cross country, being in the band, advanced math, GATE, and the reptile club. He wants to do it all. Hopefully he doesn't burn out any time soon. On the first day of school, Conner really wanted to be a part of it all. He insisted he was going to school too and put on a backpack and convinced Ryan to make him a lunch like everyone else's. Once we got to the school, he panicked and kept saying, "Don't leave me here!" Conner would not let R.J. take a picture by himself. Braden is a 4th grader this year, but because of weirdness in our school district, this will be his last year at our elementary school. He will never get to be the big man on campus, because next year our local M.S. is opening with 5th through 7th for the 1st year it's opened. Sienna is a 3rd grader now. She is already doing great, following all the rules, and doing all her homework by herself without being asked. And Conner is home with me. But he wanted his picture taken too. :o) R.J. was really excited about getting to ride the bus so I've decided to go with it. Conner really wants to ride the bus too. R.J. is his buddy and he's always so sad to see him go. Sienna ready to work hard on her 1st day. Braden wandering around with his 100-lb bag of school supplies, looking for his desk. It's going to be a great year!! (crossing fingers)

Hard at Work

Conner loves to be a "helper." He cries if I scramble eggs because he wants to do it. He is constantly dragging chairs around the kitchen or climbing counters so he can do it himself. He especially loves stirring things. One day he discovered a bolt loose on his trike. He insisted he could fix it all by himself. His tools of choice were a box of safety pins. I don't know what he accomplished, but he worked on it for a really long time!

Big Boy Hair Cut

I like Conner's hair long but Ryan hates it. This year I convinced him to leave it long just until our beach trip. He needed beach boy hair! Well, the day finally came that it needed to be cut, even I agreed. The place our boys get hair cuts keep records in the computer of every visit. They told Ryan it had been 54 weeks since Conner's last hair cut! I didn't realize it had been THAT long. So now his hair is cut and I have another year to relax about it.... I don't know what the basketball is about. Just making it more interesting. :o)

Free Car Wash

Sienna informed me she wanted to wash the van. Why not? It was pretty dirty. The funny thing, is after all that work, it still seemed a bit dirty to me.:o) And the serious bummer, something about the super hot day and the hose combination, cracked my windshield. :o(