Marching in the Rain...

Ruby has joined the Twirlettes.  She takes her twirling very seriously.  She has had two lessons now.  She thinks she is ready for the twirling olympics!  This Friday was very rainy.  (I should know, I took my class to the apple orchard!)  The rain was NOT letting up.  Ruby however was dressed and ready to go to her first parade.  I personally was hoping it would be cancelled (I know... bad mom, but I had to march in the rain too!!)

Ruby is the smallest Twirlette, but perhaps has the biggest heart!  That little girl of mine marched her heart out, in the POURING rain, and grinned the whole time!  The little ones just linked batons and marched, the big girls were doing a routine up front.  Every time they tossed their batons into the air and caught them Ruby would exclaim, "MOM!  Did you see that?  That is sooooo AWESOME!  I am gonna do that when I get big!"

After the parade, the director complimented Ruby on her "toughness", and told her she was very proud.  Mom was very proud too.  Even Brian has to admit that perhaps Ruby has found her "thing" already.  She sleeps with her baton!  

Today Ruby woke up and asked, "Mom, when are we going to the parade?"  She was ready for another one!  When anyone asks her how the parade went, she says, "It was good, but my hair was sooooo soaked!"  

We'll have to see how she feels about marching in the snow in December!  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

God is good.  All the time.

The Light At the End of the Tunnel....

Nope, I am not dying... but thanks to my handy dandy sitter and friend, (or should I say friend and sitter?) I have these images to share...                                                      

My babies are going to school!!!  Clara and Ruby are now in preschool.  Ruby LOVES it... Clara is a little unsure about things.  She is fine once she gets there (minus the hour long temper tantrum on her second day) but thus far, school is not her favorite place.  Clara does not like changes.  In the last two weeks she's had to adjust to Daddy working, daycare, school buses, kids on the playground...more buses, and more daycare.  On the upside, she has invited her teacher to her birthday party, so perhaps a change is coming.  

In fact,  just today she told me today she is not going to cry on "that other day" when she goes back to school.  (Monday)  I actually think she is hitting me up for more Build a Bear clothes for her bears, but if they will stop the morning tantrums, it will be money well spent!  

Matthew, is LOVING kindergarten.  He is in the Montessori program at our school and is really excited about the animals, the hands on activities, and his teachers.  He also still gives me kisses in the hallway when he sees me.  But not without a quick glance at his teacher to make sure she's not going to catch him out of line!  I know I have to savor these stolen kisses, as soon he will be too big, and too cool to kiss his mommy in public.  He still looks so tiny.  I am hoping that he outgrows some clothes this year, or the endocrinologists figure out what is going on.  Here's my handsome man on his first day...

Here are my "Man boys" who are now too cool to look excited for school, Noah is in 7th grade this year.  This picture pretty much sums up his excitement.  He pretty much leaps out of the minivan prior to it coming to a complete stop in the morning lest I say something embarrassing like "Love you bubby" for his friends to overhear!  

Ricky was apprehensive about starting school.  His best friend is in a different 3rd grade class, and his other best friend is now going to a private school.  Despite his worries, he Dylan told Dylan's dad that they did not need him to walk them to school on the first day, because they were "MEN"!

 

He is now on a mission to earn lunch with his teacher.  To do this he has to keep his name on the "golden board" all marking period.  Something tells me he will do it!  

Brian and I are adjusting to the new schedule.  He is out of the house by 6:00 most mornings, and seems really excited by the prospect of learning all the tricks of the pipe fitting trade.  My class is off to a good start.  They seem super sweet, and well behaved!  I feel very lucky!   I spent a good part of today in my classroom, looking for my dongle, which I seem to have misplaced.  (Dang it!)  Guess I'll have to go to the mall.......

God is good.  All the time.

Because a promise is a promise....

I am updating my blog. But only so that you will no longer have to read about my gang sign flashing kindergartner. In the craziness that only a kindergarten teacher would understand, I managed to leave my charger at school for my laptop. I guess we are supposed to have two, so maybe I left BOTH of them at school... (problem being I have no idea where one of them may be...) I could not edit or upload my pictures, play on Facebook, or browse wistfully on the Gymboree website. I couldn't even list Matthew's motorcycle power wheels on Craigs List! (He said we could sell it if he could get a Build a Bear Wolf, and a Batman costume for it to wear...)

What did I do before that laptop??

I am updating now from the dinosaur we call a desktop. It is old, and slow, and annoying...

Problem is, I PROMISED a friend I would update my blog this weekend, and a promise is a promise, so consider this blog updated!

Will post more with pictures and fun later this week! (Maybe....)

God is good. All the time.

The Boyers Visit a Dairy Farm... or, Why is Matthew Flashing Gang Signs?

So today we went to a dairy farm.  A centennial farm.  If you look closely, you will see Matthew is throwing gang signs underneath the historical sign.  I did not notice this when I snapped the picture.  I should have.  I think it was a warning from above.  My kids are CITY kids.  In case you don't believe it, here is the proof...

My children quickly found their favorite farm animal...

They were satisfied with this and were ready to go home and eat.  However Meems had other plans in store!  Like chasing chickens!  People say chickens are dumb.  These chickens are hiding from Ricky...(look close they are under the bush) seems pretty smart to me!  

Here is Clara getting kissed by a cow.  She likes it! 

 

Don't forget the bunny petting! 

 

We also saw quail, sheep, big cows, giant tractors, ducks, turkeys, and cows pooping (Ricky's favorite part aside from the smell), and giant sunflower fields,

Where Matthew felt compelled to flash more gang signs.  

Back to the city tomorrow.

God is good.  All the time.

Toad Lessons

We are "up north" as my kids would say, visiting my bff Meems and her gang.  They were at our house last week, just in time to get exposed to pertussis.  Thankfully their mommy called the doctor and got them on preventative antibiotics and the only coughing here is from my kiddos.  Have I mentioned that the coughing symptoms can last THREE MONTHS??   But I digress.  

The picture above is "Baby" holding a toad she found in the yard.  My kids were impressed with her boldness and all wanted to hold the toad.  Problem being... they all looked like this...

In case you don't speak Clara facial expressionesse she is saying "Are you kidding me?  I am not touching that thing!!"  They all tried and tried, and the poor toad got dropped and dropped.  My kids could NOT keep from flinching every time they touched the toad.  Finally Noah stepped forward and said, "I want to hold it."  Now those of you that know Noah, know that he is not known for his bravery or willingness to try new things!  He kept saying, "Wait, wait, I gotta get my mind set."  Then what do you know....Noah!  Holding a toad!  It seems like a very strange proud mommy moment, but it was one!  I proclaimed him the toad holding winner of the city mice!  Of course then Matthew wanted to try again....Poor Ricky just couldn't bring himself to hold the toad without a napkin.  I told him I was NOT getting him a napkin!  So he looked like this..

We have a few more days here... maybe "Baby" can teach him some toad holding tricks yet.

God is good.  All the time.

What are the odds.....

We have pertussis in our house.  Nope, I am not kidding.  Even my pediatrician said "Only you, Krista" and I have to agree.  What are the odds of contracting a disease that is supposed to be for the most part obliterated by vaccines? To add insult to injury, what are the odds that only one of my five immunized children had any protection from it (at least so far...).  Needless to say, we are ALL taking antibiotics and in 24 hours we will no longer be contagious.  I am looking forward to that.  

In the mean time, we have had friends from out of town over (sorry Meems!), went to Build a Bear in the Mall, Chuck E . Cheese, Olgas Kitchen, and many many Midwest Sliders games, and oh yeah, I donated blood for the first time.  I hope they check blood for pertussis.  (?!) I donated over two weeks ago, so I am hoping that I didn't unknowingly pass along an illness to someone who was already ill.  Good grief.  The guilt would kill me.

School is starting soon.  We are going to visit a dear friend (who I may or may not have infected with pertussis) this weekend, and are looking forward to the Heritage Festival one of Ricky's all time favorite ways to spend money.  We missed it last year because we were in Disney World.  He is still a little bitter about that.  He is a weird weird kid!  I'll have to post about his birthday when I am not coughing all over the place....

I guess it could be worse, but looking at the odds of so many of us getting pertussis in the first place, I think I am going to start playing the lotto.  My luck has got to change in my favor one of these days!

God is good.  All the time.

The Wonder Years....

It's a rather odd habit I have, but sometimes as I watch things unfold in the lives of my children I hear the beginning line of a story being told in my head.  Like the man voice in the wonder years.  So here are a few pics that the voice in my head has been begging me to share...

 " It seemed like a strange welcome to our family, but then I remembered that Hell had great ice cream."

"I frantically rehearsed the lines in my head, what if I forgot the words?  In front of all those people? And then she appeared, and her smile sent a sense of calm through my five year old body"

"I knew my mom would comment about my handwriting so I quickly grabbed my solar oven and stood in front of the display, hoping to divert her attention"

"I would never have thought that splashing on the banks of Hell Creek would feel a little bit like Heaven"

"I always knew I was going to be a dancer.  I just had to figure out how to get to people to notice me"

"I loved being in the dug out with the players.  Listening to the coaches yell, the players swear, and the crowd cheer.  When I scooped up the bat, I liked to imagine they were cheering for me."

Summer as all good things do, is passing by much too quickly.

God is good.  All the time.