s'more good times

There's nothing better than the smell of a crackling fire on a chilly evening, good friends and yummy treats! And, yes, in case you are wondering, Cam is wearing his PJ's. Haha! guess he just wanted to feel extra cozy :)

Happy Labor Day weekend!!

Big day for my little man

All set for the first day of 1st grade!!
And here is Greg with his new teacher.

It was a really good day! I had a hard time but not Gregory! He was super excited and I think he had a blast!

It is going to be different having Gregory gone all day! I prayed, cried, prayed some more, read tons of books, colored (the kids are back in their no-TV-in-the-morning routine), ran some errands, spent a little time in retail-therapy at Andee's, and then kept Grant and Claire awake so we could go down to school to make sure Greg found his bus!

And, then we were off again:

Gregory played in his first soccer game of the season! It was fun! He gets so tired but he kept on playing hard!
Check out C-bear...so sleepy! She is only smiling here because I was blowing loud raspberries at her! Mean Mommy wouldn't let her go to sleep at naptime and she was Ti-red! Tomorrow, sweet girl, tomorrow! If not for you, for me ;)

Grant did great today, too! No nap for him either and he played hard! He misses Greg a lot when he is gone. It will be good, though, for Grant and Claire to have more time to play~just the two of them. Tonight at the game, he rolled down the hill like 112 times...practically fainting from exhaustion afterward. Somehow I didn't get a picture of my monkey boy today :(

Good night!

Weekend away

This weekend we stayed with my best friend Rebecca, and her family, when we were in Portland for my SIL's wedding. It was crazy busy, but fun! The wedding was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, spending time with our family is always good and then we stayed up way too late talking and laughing with our good friends~I loved every minute! I forgot to take my camera to the wedding!! So bummed, but hopefully I'll be able to share a few pictures if I can borrow them from someone else!

A few years back I bought a picture that Reb has in her bathroom that says: "It takes a long time to grow an old friend" (we have been BFF's since 6th grade). When I saw this picture, I had to smile, thinking that's what is in store for these two, as well :)

Our kids were so tired after all of the fun of the weekend! They were all asleep before we got to Troutdale!

After we stopped for dinner in The Dalles, Gregory lost his tooth! He was so brave...just pulled that sucker right out! I couldn't believe it! SO Gross! Tomorrow he will start first grade without that tooth! Love the cute look, but I'm still feeling pretty emotional about my little man growing up! I'll be saying lots of prayers tomorrow as he is at school for his first full day!

This can't be comfortable.

Here is where we found Claire a couple of nights ago...this one just can't stay in her bed. Usually she hangs out right behind the door with a mountain of her stuffed animals and babies (which makes it very hard to open her door), but on this particular night it was right in the middle of her floor. Had to laugh....and take a picture :)

We are getting ready for a full weekend...a wedding, lots of family and friends...I can't wait! We are all finally well again (it's a good thing!) All of the kids got sick last week and then I got it too on Monday. I have been getting better day by day this week, and today feel like myself, thank the Lord!!

Happy weekend!

PJ wearing Sunday

Our three have each had a touch of something :( So I went to church alone this morning and they stayed home with Daddy. They were doing good in the afternoon so I took the boys to a Birthday party, but other than that, it was a pretty lazy day around here. They boys wore their PJs most of the day and then after we got home from the party, they took showers and put on these new (clearance rack) PJ's that I just picked up today. They probably only wore clothes for something like 3-4 hours! We managed to have a pretty fun day in spite of everything!

Emotional

I can hardly believe that the Summer is coming to an end. Not sure if I am ready for school to start up again but it is coming whether I am ready or not. I am a little afraid to watch Gregory go off to school for a full day. I know in my heart that God will be with him and that nothing Gregory encounters will take Him by surprise...and yet I still worry. Being a mother is just the hardest thing ever!! I recently read this quote:

Being a mother is like taking your heart out of your chest and watching it walk around. -- Author Unknown

That is so true!! So, now, my challenge (and priviledge) is to take my worries to the Lord and LEAVE them with Him! Praise God...I know that He will give me His peace and comfort!
My dear friend Jennifer was able to make a quick trip to town the other day and it was soo good to see her and her beautiful girls! We just adore you all! Jenn, I miss you more than ever!

Have a great weekend!

Camp out

Yesterday a storm blew through and look at the size of the hail! It was pretty cool! I love storms.

Tonight, my boys are having a camp out :)
Here they are all set up to watch a movie. Isn't that sky behind them beautiful?!

I wish I could sleep out there too! But, I have been banned...no girls allowed ;) I love the way our tent smells! This is the tent that I grew up with. So many great memories! When Cam and I got married we kind of stole/inherited it from my parents. They really aren't into camping any more so it worked out pretty good!

08/08/08

Claire no longer wants to be the baby...she wants to be the Mama! Last night at our softball game, I especially noticed this. Whenever her friend, Ashley, would try to pick her up, Claire wanted down!! However, she was very interested in helping another baby drink his milk (even though he had a pretty good handle on it himself).
However, some obstacles still require some help from her Mama :) Love the way she is contemplating the climb up this ladder.
Summer monkeys.
We had a fun picnic with some friends....celebrating sweet Emily's Birthday!

Gregory has really mastered his bike riding this summer! Cam's other goal for him was to learn to tie his shoes. Well, with all of the sandal wearing, I just realized that he still doesn't know how and we haven't practiced at all! And then yesterday we did a little school shopping and I kind of let the boys talk me into buying them these z strap Sketchers....yep: velcro. I think they are hideous, but they love them. So, I guess maybe by the time he is 37 he may know how to tie his own shoes ;)
Good times!

Happy 08/08/08!!!! Go USA!!!!

Flying High

My parents are in town and we had a SUPER fun day!! My Dad took the boys and me up for a little ride in Papa~his plane. Gregory has been asking for a while now for another ride so he was beside himself! Grant was excited too, but I think a little hesitant...this was his first time up!

all set to go! They did so great...Dad even let them both fly for a little while. Grant was a little nervous, but he did it! Gregory was more confident~which made me a little nervous! :)
And, here are my favorite girls :) My Mom loves to have her hair brushed...I remember doing this many times when I was little. Ahh, what a great, relaxing day! Thanks Mom and Dad...we LOVE you! Time to move to Hermiston already!! (Okay, I'll stop the pressure now...I promise)!