6th grade...

(yesterday)

p.s that darn big bright beautiful morning sunlight!!!

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p.s.s. i've decided i don't like year-round school.....
at least,
 Lynzie was beside herself with excitment!!!

on day #2

This morning I walked Lynzie to school,

we let Sadie go,

she was so excited that she got to go to 'school',

that

she was actually hopping like a rabbit!!!

first day of school......first day of school....

We're ready to learn to get some knowledge!

(Finding Nemo)

Senior.......Junior.......6th grade.......4th grade......

Oh ya, and just so I remember....

Spencer is now too 'cool' to wave to me, or even look my way,

or acknowledge me in anyway!

I hate when that happens....

at least Lynzie still loves me,

(at least for a few more years!)

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Poor Sadie,

it was the hardest on her today....

she wanted to go too,

she was sad that all her 'besties' left her this morning,

she followed me around all day like a little lost puppy!!!

get it.......little lost puppy!

We'll have to sign her up for some

doggie daycare

or

little canine craft classes

or

something!!!

j/k.

middle school...

oh my gosh,

watching Spencer get ready for 6th grade middle school has been one of the funniest things....

and it started a few months ago, at the end of last school year.

He's been nervously excited for it all to begin,

and

today was one of the big days,

today (Saturday) they got to go and have a mock school day,

going to all there 8 classes for 20 minutes each, meeting there teachers,

checking to see which friends were in class with them, trying to open there lockers,

and

scoping out the girls,

(that in itself is the most hilarious things ever!!!)

pure concentration!!!

(Cameron, Jacob, Spencer....two of his greatest friends)

It's exciting to be doing this for the 3rd time again,

but,

doing it with girls is a little different than with a boy!

I have loved hearing Spencer's views on life as a middle schooler,

and seeing it from an 11 year olds point of view....

I have died laughing out loud with and at Spencer during this process...

and I have a feeling this is only the beginning!

he's a funny kid!

we're so proud of our new graduate....

Can you see Spencer receiving his diploma and graduating from the 5th grade!?

yea, me either!

Time to get a new camera.

preferably one that actually takes pictures at the precise moment that you would like to capture the moment!!!!

just sayin'...

our foreign ex-change student

I'm not goin' to lie,

I have a pit in my stomach,

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I just bought an airplane ticket for Candice,

she's flyin' on a jet plane in exactly 10 days,

she's going to be a foreign exchange student,

in Vernal.........Utah!

(yes, because it will be foreign to her!)

She has the opportunity to go to school for the last quarter

with her cousins and live with my sweet sister and totally get spoiled by all my family!

I'm excited for her, I really am, and I've felt good about our decision to let her go,

I'm excited for the opportunities that she'll have there, that she can't experience here....

but, now that it's really here, and the ticket is bought, it's reality!

I'm going to miss her so much, and it will make me homesick but happy at the same time!

It's just so weird to me that she's growing up.....

and sad... sad that she's not my little "gink" anymore,

with her squeaky voice and blond curly hair,

now she's old enough to adventure out and about in the big world

and

I don't know if I'm ready for that!!!!

sigh...

1 down 263 to go....

Have you seen that commercial of the little girl getting ready to get on the bus for her first day of school, she's of course nervous and sad, then her mom hands her a card, when the little girl opens to read the card on the bus, a whole bunch of beautiful butterflies fly out the bus window and of course it makes the little girl smile and happy and then she's ready to face her first day of school.....well, Spencer and I saw that commercial together a few weeks ago, and me trying to be the funny one that I am, I said "oh that's precious, I'm going to do that for you Spencer," knowing that he, being a boy would think that is a dumb girlie thing, but instead he said, "mom, I need that cuz I'm kind-of nervous for 5th grade!!!!!!!

So, thinking what I could do for him, I knew we had two problems;

#1- he doesn't ride a bus to school

and

#2- how was I going to get magic butterflies to fly out of a card and out a bus window so beautifully?

Well, I did the next best thing.....

I drew a butterfly on each of there hands this morning, and it seemed to work, they were pretty excited for school!

You know how I feel about 'school' and the tight schedules that it brings with it,

I have a hard time even saying the 'word',...... I'm still in denial!

I love the lazy days of summer....

I did feel a scents of relief when Candice and Caitlyn drove themselves to school,

there just might be light at the end of the tunnel,

maybe....... just maybe this year will be a little easier!

(I think I'm really going to go all out and have choc-chip cookies for them when they get home!)

# 72

I love the guys in my life. I love them for different reasons.... Spencer has started tackle football for the first time this year, being in Texas and being football, Spencer is playing with some of the best of the best, this isn't your mama's football.....this is Texas FOOTBALL !!!

Today Spencer did the hardest and bravest thing I have ever seen him do up to this point in his life, the decision he made tonight will set the tone for the rest of his life, he will be able to look back and grow from this. I'm not going to go into detail of the events of today b/c I won't be able to fully express in writting the emotions and the seriousness of it, without it sounding so corny! and I guess it probably is unless you were in my shoe's today (which I'm glad you weren't b/c they were just my dumb flip-flops!) but I am humbled to tears as I watch my 9 year old son conquer his world!

**So school started today!!! Which everyone else is so excited! Not me !! School means tight schedules and having to be at two different places at the same time! Last year we actually had to be three different places at the same time and that happened on more than one ocassion, and that can get pretty tricky when their is four kids and only two parents, life was so simple and sweet when the kids where little! Spencer and Lynzie were so excited to start school, Candice and Caitlyn not so much, altho, Candice loves the freedom of high school and Caitlyn said there were "hotties" everywhere she looked!!! I never cried when my kids started kindergarten, it was such an exciting time in there little lives, kindergarten and going to school is something they wait there whole lifes to do; so when that day comes it's exciting, I always get excited for there excitment, so needless to say, I never cry on the first day of school, I do remember when Lynzie went it was the first time I was home alone and I walked around aimlessly, I didn't know what to do with myself, it was a strange feeling! But with Spencer playing football, my emotions have caught up with me. It's very emotional for me to watch him play on so many different levels. He is an amazing little man! I love him for many reasons.... one is his funny personality and the other, that I can add to my list, is what he accomplished tonight !!!!