Fire Station and Pumpkin Farm

Aiden has taken 2 fieldtrips with his pre-school class.

The first trip was to the Coleman fire station.

Here he is getting a help down from the fire truck.

Checking out one of the nozzles for the hoses.

Giving the fireman a high five.

The fireman put on all his gear, and his oxygen tank. It sound like Darth Vader!

Hopefully it will help kids to know what a fireman looks like and sounds like if he has to come and rescue them sometime. Aiden was a little hesitant to give him a high five, and he even knows the fireman from church!

Later that night Aiden said, "I will never start this house on fire, because I do NOT want the fireman to have to come and do this"...and he started breathing like Darth Vader! That may be the most valuable lesson the boy learns all year! Thank you Coleman Fire Department!

And just last week we went to a pumpkin farm.

He fed a llama,

played in the maze,

and of course, picked out a pumpkin!



First Day of School 2012!

This year I don't think I have any pictures from the first day of school.

 Catching the first day of school is difficult because over the years we have stopped having that "official" first day of school, and we sort of ease into our school routine.

This year we began with math and spelling the first week of August.

Week 2 we added writing and week 3 we added  grammar.

Week 4 we added all the rest.

Starting our year out gradually makes it less stressful for all of us. By the time all of our fall activities start up again, we have several weeks of school under our belt. We used to start school and activities all at once, after Labor Day. That was just too overwhelming for our family!

So here's some of our first days of school for the 2012-2013 school year.

Our class has a 6th grader, a 4th grader and a pre-schooler.

Obviously we had riding lessons on this day! :)

Doing some work.

Reading to her brother.

Working on grammar.

I love their facial expressions in this one!

Perhaps reading with goggles helps with comprehension?

Lunch break.

Recess!

As you can see from Aiden's double barrel shotgun,

we haven't adopted a zero tolerance policy for guns in our school :)

Pre-School Boy

In September Aiden started going to pre-school.

He has the same teacher Emma did when she was there!

We have been making good use of our time while he is gone.

We are able to get most of our school work done...without ANY distractions!

Most days we have finished with time to go out for a bike ride or a walk before we pick him up.

Here he is ready to go.

He doesn't go far without his cowboy hat and boots!

He was sure to tell me, "Don't worry, mom. I won't take my gun in."

Good to know he wouldn't be taking guns in on the first day of school!

I love this one!

He didn't have any problems with me leaving him.

In fact, his teacher had to remind him that it is nice to say good-bye to mom before he takes off.

Thankfully, he did come back to give me a hug.

Then he was off!

Redneck Reunion

Have you seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding?
You know the big, loud family?

Well, that is my family.

Except we're not Greek.

Last month my aunt and her family hosted a Redneck Family Reunion.

We missed the reunion last year so this year I was very excited to be able to go and visit with my family.

My mom comes from a family of 10 siblings and 8 of the 10 were able to be at the reunion.

We had the chance to see many family members that we haven't seen since before the accident, and we were able to meet many new addtions!

Like sweet little Marissa.

Ryan visiting with my uncle and cousin.

Texas family!

And Missouri too :)

So glad they made the trip!

My silly girl sporting a mustache and carrying water balloons.

Daddy's helping tie her ammo.

The boys working on the piggie!

You might be a redneck if.....

you like to "ride the mingo!"

If this is your family, you just might be a redneck!

Us from Aiden's view.

After he took it he looked at the photo on the camera and said, "Oh, it's a good one! I like it!"

Our immediate family, minus my sister Liz and her family.

First cousins.

There were a few more there, but we missed them for the picture.

Oh, the memories made with these girls (and Liz!)

Children of the first cousins.

This is my family! They may be rednecks, but I love them!

Even though we are miles apart, they were there to rally around us in our time of need.

They encouraged us, prayed for us and just loved us!
Thanks family! We love you so much!



Looking for a Good Mechanic?

Looks like Aiden may have an interest in being a mechanic someday.

He found a book at the library about the different parts of cars.

He really likes it!

For some reason, his mom was not as excited as he was about reading the car part book several times a day.

Occasionally he will ask something like, "Now what do the spark plugs do again?" as he hands me the book.

One day I found him outside with the book by his Hot Wheels Jeep.

He'd look at the book, and then lift the hood and try to find the matching parts in his Jeep.

Wouldn't you know, this mama has a sudden, growing interest in all the parts of a car?
Yep, mufflers, engines, spark plugs, brakes, and fuel pumps are now one of my favorite things to read about!

Good thing Aiden found that book!

And he wants me to read it to him again, and again, and again!


Horse Show

Here's Emma at a recent horse show.

Love that smile!

Each time she has shown this summer she has placed 3rd or 4th in her class.



Softball 2012

Both girls played Little League softball this spring. 

 Moriah was on a coach pitch team.

She has the cutest ready stance!

This year she discovered she likes catching.

This is even cuter than her ready stance!

Emma was on a minor team and she did some pitching this season.

I love this picture of her pitching.

She, on the other hand, does not!

Such a cute ball player!

Later in the summer they both played summer ball on the same team.

Being able to play on the same team for summer ball will probably only happen once in their lives!

They played with a great group of girls!

They had fun together!