The Beaver

The beaver moved in near my parents house sometime after I moved out.  Over the past few years they have made quite a mess of the creek that runs behind my parents house.  It is fun to go and check on the latest damns they have been making.  It is amazing how solid they are.  The kids are pictured here walking across one. Of course Caleb wanted Cara to go first.  It is amazing he was brave enough to be born first.  That must not have been up to him. 

With only one four-wheeler and five kids it can be really crowded getting from place to place.

It has been an extremly dry summer, until the last month or so.  People must be praying and fasting - Cara was excited to show off this amazing mushroom she found. 

Andy is FIVE

We celebrated Andy's FIFTH birthday yesterday.  He was "so happy." He invited a bunch of his friends to a LEGO Birthday party.  I went out of my comfort zone and made my own fondant for his Lego Cake.  I'm not an artist and not good at tedious projects, but I thought five year old boys would be okay with me learning on them. 

The boys were so cute about giving him gifts and it was better than Christmas for him.  We had the party while Caleb and Cara were at school so that they wouldn't still the show.  It worked beautifully except that I had to do all of the work. 

We went out to dinner with the family.  He was a happy birthday boy.  He had a hard time catching on to the concept that it was his birthday all day, everywhere he went. 

Isn't this face priceless?  He was a good gift receiver. 

Aggie Fans

Josh and I are NOT sports junkies, but we are training our kids to be Aggie fans.  We have made a tradition of spending the entire day of homecoming celebrating being an Aggie.

The girls are less interested in the game than the boys are, but they enjoy being a part of the party.  This year the girls spent some time "sleeping" under the bleachers. 

 Of course, John's favorite part was the treats. 

Who could resist posting a picture of those adorable chubby cheeks?

One of my favorite memories of the game this year was watching Ali dance at time out's and other brakes.  She is at such an adorable age!

We did get rained out during the third quarter, but the Aggies were winning by a landslide so going home wasn't that painful. 

We go to a fun luncheon where Big Blue and the cheerleaders come.  

The best part of the lunch is lots of Aggie door prizes.  Go Aggie!

Back to School

I was so excited for school to start this year!  I was ready to get back into a schedule and get some structure in my life.  I saw Cara literally climbing the walls and I know it was time!

For the last day of summer vacation we had a little celebration and went to my Aunt Anna's redneck park with the Lows.  I loved watching them make trains going down the slide.  Pictured here from oldest to youngest is Caleb, Isaac, Cara, Dawson, Henry, and Andy.  Cute kids!

They were very brave jumping off of the 10 ft. platform.  Andy at age 4 even did it over and over after Caleb pushed him off the first time.  Caleb is pictured jumping. 

On the first day of school we were running late so I didn't get a picture of Caleb (starting 4th Grade) and Cara (starting 2nd Grade).  It is crazy to me how quickly they are growing.  Socially it was really painful for them the first week as they were trying to figure out friends. It is hard to sit back and watch your kids struggle, but they are doing better now.  It didn't take long.

Ali started Joy School (a neighborhood preschool coop) this month.  I taught for the first three times.  The kids are all so cute.  We've never had a group this small, but it was so nice to teach them.  Pictured is Jenston, Ali, Devyn, and Charles on the first day of Joy School.

Only Ali could think that a turtle neck fit her just right around the waist. 

Andy is doing preschool at the Sports Academy this year.  This is the first time I have rationalize the huge expense of this preschool. This is his third year of preschool due to his September birthday so I think it is a good fit for him.  He wore his swim suit to the first day of school because his group had swimming on the first day of school.  He has school for two hours and then his third hour of school he either swims, does tumbling or does other sports.  I think he will enjoy the format at the Sports Academy.  He is pictured here with his good friend G Low.  Most of his neighborhood friends are at the Sports Academy so it will be fun for them all to go to Pre-School together. 

We all LOVE John

This picture is a simple illustration of how we all love John.  He was sleeping in the car and Andy was still trying to share his smarties with Johnny.  Yes, that is a smarty stuck between John's lips.  Sharing treats can be hard, but not when it is with your adorable one-year-old brother. 

It is so fun to take John to the park and watch the kids rally around him.  They are so willing to push him on the swing or to play with him.  I guess there is one thing we can all agree on - John is a great part of the family.

Like my other boys John LOVES balls.  He especially likes it when Caleb or Andy play pass with him.  He wants to be one of the big kids as long as he doesn't have to walk.   He is 15.5 months and not even thinking about walking on his own.  He cruises awesome and climbs like a monkey, but letting go of the couch is out of the question.  I know he will get it someday, but for now this lug is braking my back.

I realize that Johnny is one of the easiest one-year-olds around.  He is content sitting in his stroller and eating whenever we go out.  He doesn't run away from me, and he hangs his head when I tell him no.  That said he is still capable of making quite the mess.  Should I worry that he was so pleased to crawl around with girls under-ware on his head?  After cleaning out the girls pajama drawer he moved on to wearing panties.

Family Pictures

As my mom prepares to sale the farm where I grew up I am sentimental about it and decided to have family pictures one more time on the "home place."  Here are a few in random order: