Bring on Summer!!

Where in the world did the year go?  I mean seriously, today was the last day of school for Ethan and it seems like we just enrolled him into Indian Valley Schools.  It is crazy how time is flying by and it really makes me sad knowing there's nothing I can do to stop it.  I finally am experiencing what my parents felt as my siblings and I were growing up....where's the bubble?! LOL!!  On the other side of the coin, I had a pretty excited 1st grader that has been waiting on this day for quite some time.  He is so ready for summer to have a break from all the hub bub that comes along with school.  Sitting here now, writing this post, thinking back how I felt last year at this time...I had no idea if putting him in 1st grade was the best thing?  Should he do another year in kindergarten?? UGH, all those emotions were going through me and I was just trying to make the best decision for him.  Well, following my gut and listening to the right people was the best decision, because he did it.  He had a great year in 1st grade!  You know that saying, "What a difference a year makes" is ringing true at our house.  I'm so proud to say that we now have a 2nd grader, as well as a PreK student, in our humble abode!  Way to go boys...now, bring on summer!!! ;)

Last Day of 1st Grade 

last day of waiting for the bus w/ his cousin's this year

Bye Mom

There is...

My 2nd grader

Brotherly Love...both ready for summer break

Tonight, we had a fun time celebrating the last day of school!  The boys loved their "Summer Passports" that I made them with lots of fun ideas to try this summer, they enjoyed their favorite treats, and we even made Kool-Aid popsicles. What a fun evening!!! We are so ready for summer break!!!!

we are ready for some "Summer Fun"

Long Weekend!

Hard to believe that the weekend we wait all winter for, is now a memory.  For some reason, Memorial Day weekend, for us anyway, marks a fresh start.  Things are green, it's warm, the days are getting longer, school is almost over, and we are on our bikes a lot!  It's a time that means summer is just right around the corner.  Summer isn't my favorite season, by no means, but I've gained a new appreciation for it since my boys started school and with Brenton not working at the CC, means we get to enjoy this summer even more.  This past weekend, is what kicks off summer and we had a fun one.  We didn't do much, didn't see any extended family for cookouts or anything like that, but we just enjoyed our own little family excursions doing whatever it was we wanted.  We did have commitments every day, but after each one, we enjoyed our family time.  I'm not sure about you, but I love family time!  I love making memories, I love watching my boys as they grow, and I especially love being with my husband as we watch our boys in those moments.

Yesterday, the boys got to be in a parade.  Ethan was so excited and I believe contacted as many people as he could yesterday morning to tell them.  They were asked a couple months ago to ride w/ their uncle in the cop car to lead the parade over in Tusky.   Their uncle is the chief over there, so he set it all up for them.  I wasn't sure how Colin would do, but we all were prepared, and ready to get him out in a moments notice.  Well, that little monkey surprised everyone, b/c he LOVED it.  Todd turned on the sirens and all he did was plug his ears.  He knew exactly what to do and it didn't phase him a bit.  I was so glad, it is so fun to watch Colin grow.  He is changing so much and we are really enjoying his growth.  Ethan, well he loved everything about it, too.  He got to sit upfront and man the controls.  He was in his glory!  He waved, threw candy, talked to us over the speaker, and just took the moment in for all it was worth.  The best part....he went in full Spidey get up!  He is too funny, but I love that he is his own person and that a small town parade made him feel so good!  

Getting ready to head out

Uncle Todd showing them the ropes

The sounds didn't bother him a bit...he knew what to do. LOL!

Time to go

here they come

Spidey leading the way

Hi Mom & Dad

Brotherly Love after a long, fun weekend

PreK Here He Comes!!!

Yesterday, I had a moment!  A moment of joy, filled w/ tears, as I watched Colin finalize his 1st year of preschool.  This year has been, overall, a great year for him.  He's come so far and has learned a lot.  I wasn't sure how this year would pan out, but looking back, he truly has accomplished a bunch of things.  I didn't want to send him, I truly hated that I needed to, but I know deep down it was the best decision made for him.  As I sat, waiting for the program to begin, a whirlwind of emotions came over me.  I had no idea how he would react to the filled parlor, but I sat looking around at other parents excited to see their child and wondered if they felt the same?  Did they have the anxiety I felt, knowing that it probably wasn't going to turn out the way I hoped?  I smiled, a lot...but, truly inside I was a mess.  Ready to breakdown at any given moment, I just didn't know when.  Thank goodness, Brenton was able to make it, because I needed him there with me yesterday.  Brenton is my calm and in moments like that, where Colin's anxiety gets the best of him, he knows exactly what to do to soothe the situation.  I love him so much for that!  As I looked one last time at the program, I heard them coming, and I waited.....waited to see...waited to hear....and there it was....with a quick look from around the corner, him seeing the crowd, he was done!  In his sweet, little voice "I fine" (that is his I'm overwhelmed statement) Daddy was up to save the day.  I prepare myself for these moments, because truly I don't know what to expect.  I almost felt guilty watching the other kids and thinking, "isn't that how it's supposed to be" to be so excited to come to these events and watch the kids sing, dance, do hand motions, and just be so happy to show us all what they learned?!?!  There was a stained glass window at the very tip of the parlor where we sat that had a picture of Jesus and I found myself staring at it and quietly praying.....I looked over at my husband who was holding tight to our little boy, that we love dearly, knowing that "our normal" isn't what anybody else in that very room would ever know.  As they finished their songs and Miss Angie passed out their certificates, I watched Colin and smiled so much until his name was called.  When Daddy walked up with him to get his promotion certificate, I lost it!  At that very moment, all of the emotions that I felt at different times during the year, hit me all at once.....as the crowd clapped for my little man, I was wiping my tears.  Those tears of accomplishment for the little boy who has come so far.  The little boy that calls me "mama" and even though he never lifted his head to look at anybody, he knew all eyes were on him, and I couldn't have been any prouder.  Our journey, is definitely a different journey than most, but yesterday I realized that he too accepted the same certificate that all the other kids, who sang so sweetly, who smiled at pictures for their parents, had accepted a few minutes before.  Although, his reaction was "different" he still got the same piece of paper that states he's able to move forward with them into the "big kid" class next year.  Yay for that!!!  My little man did it, he accomplished his 1 year of a "scheduled" school environment and that is huge....we are so proud of you Colin, great job buddy!!!

He DID it!!!

Bye, bye preschool....Here he comes PreK!

Conquered!!!

This milestone, deserves a post all my itself, b/c Ethan FINALLY learned how to ride his bike.  After 2 years of trying really hard to get him to get off those training wheels, he pretty much did it on his own this weekend.  Saturday, was sort of crappy and b/c of the rain, another baseball game was cancelled.  So our morning instantly freed up and we decided to take on the rain, get mulch, plant some flowers, and honestly just get outside.  The rain was off and on, so we had patches of nothing for a while and Brenton was doing some prep on our flower beds and I decided to get Ethan's bike down.  Well, he wasn't too happy about it at first, but I just told him to try it and if it didn't work out we'd just put it back in the garage, b/c the rain was coming in.  I didn't want to pressure him, but I did want to push him a tad to get out there and try it once again.  Once we got to the road, that is right beside our house, I grabbed a hold of his sweatshirt, explained where to put his feet on the pedals, and once he got started...he was off.  I swear I only held that sweatshirt for a few seconds and he had it.  Once he got it, he got it.....the smile on his face was priceless.

 

He GOT it!!!!

Later that evening, after he felt 100% comfortable on his bike....he reminded me that I made him a promise and that I did.  I promised that if he learned to ride his bike this summer, w/o training wheels, we would ride down to the park, like the big kids, and he could play.  I promised that, b/c that is what he has seen the older kids around town do and he wanted to do that, as well.  Well, it worked, b/c that enticed him enough to get on that bike and conquer it.  He was so proud of himself and so were we....we praised him for hours, I bet, but honestly this is huge for him.  Needless to say, our weekend consisted of him asking to ride that bike everywhere we went from that point on.  He loved the fact that he was getting lots of exercise, too.  As a family, we love to go on bike rides and now we can go for longer ones, since Ethan accomplished this.  Yay, Ethan....we are so proud of you!!!

1st ride to the park w/ NO training wheels

Fruits of our Labor.....hopefully!!!

We had a pretty busy weekend, but very productive to say the least.  We have talked, since we moved here, that we were going to attempt a garden and after talking w/ my sister...we decided to attempt a "family" garden over at her place.  We had no clue what we were doing, but thanks to Pinterest and a few of my sister's gardening friends, we got a few pointers and off we went.  We planted a lot...peas, corn, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, pumpkins, watermelon, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, sunflowers, and we are going to attempt potatoes, as well (I think that's it?). The kids, were so cute, as they really enjoyed hoeing, planting the seeds, watering, putting the stakes down...they just had a ball.  Colin, well, he loved the dirt.  I will say that boy, this weekend, has been a chatter box and wow, it is so fun to hear him communicate.  He was so cute, I just love watching him.  Anyway, back to the garden, we did have a minor mishap...Ethan accidentally let my sister's dog out and it took about 20 minutes before Jamisyn caught him, but once she got him back home, we got back to business and finalized our very 1st garden.  I pray, if not everything, a few things take and we can at least have something to "harvest" so the kids can see the end result.  This was our experiment year, so if nothing else, we've learned a few things.  I'm so thankful to be a street away from my sister and her family, b/c the memories we are making are absolutely priceless!!!!

getting started

finding all sorts of God's creatures in the dirt

loving the dirt

teamwork

so much fun

LiL Greaser!!!

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this or not, but I'm not a fan of preschool/PreK and do not understand all of the rush to get kids into school these days.  Now, I realize & know first hand, that this step does help with the transition into kindergarten; however, I've also found out that it's not necessary!  If Colin wasn't needing all the "extra" help these days, I wouldn't be putting him through it, but I know he needs it and for that I do what we need to do.  With my feelings aside, let me tell you how Colin feels about school in 2 words....LOVES IT!  He has a blast, making friends, and is learning valuable things each and every day.  I'm amazed at the progress he is making!  The best part, is his little friends that he will carry on with into next years PreK class, then into Kindergarten, etc, etc.  We have been truly blessed with this group of kids, because they adore Colin!!  They know he's different, but they don't treat him any less; as a matter of fact, they treat him with the utmost respect.  They help him and make sure he is well taken care of.  As his mother, that does my heart good!  You never know these days how kids will act and to see the innocence at this young age is pretty spectacular.   Colin, has had a great year and has taken part in some fun events at the school and as school dwindles down, these last few weeks, he has a couple more fun things left in store.  Yesterday and Today, they had a 50s Fling, and he dressed up as a "Greaser"....boy, was he cute!  He was rocking the leather jacket, too!!  As much as I hate pushing him to grow up, looking at where we are today, I see that the best thing we could of done for him was sending him to preschool!

Mommy's LiL Greaser!!!

He liked to watch, but from a distance...

with his buddy Jeff in the background

Blessed!!!

I know this will sound so dumb, but I truly mean it when I say that every day is "Mother's Day" to me and life just doesn't come together for one day to make me feel special.  Being a mother, is truly the best gift ever and I love everything about it; however, I must say that this past Sunday was truly a great day.  My guys made me feel so special from the moment I got up.  Ethan was all about it!  From the moment he woke up, he was in our bedroom telling me "Happy Mother's Day" and preparing everything for the day.  He worked hard, with Daddy, making me breakfast in bed and he was so excited to deliver it to me.  He had everything, too.  It was so cute to see the tray, Brenton obviously cooked, but he let Ethan fill it up...I had a note, 2 cokes, cookies for dessert, a yummy plate of food, down to a flower.  I tell ya, that boy of mine is the sweetest boy I know and he made sure I was having a great day.

my little server!!

what a spread

After breakfast, I was told to "come downstairs"....once I got there, I saw my guys had a few things for me.  It was so sweet and I loved everything, especially the boy's gifts they made at school.

the best gift's ever

Colin made this for me

so glad Miss Angie wrote this on the back

Ethan's school gift's....his note was precious

YAY, I love my new kicks

WOW, I foresee productivity improving around here now!

I'm such a practical person, so getting my new walking shoes and my new sweeper were absolutely perfect!  I love that my husband knows me so well!  He thought of everything and I love him so much for that, he really made my day special.  One thing he did that I will never forget, was trying to get Colin to say "Happy Mother's Day" but he would just say "uv you" and that was fantastic.  A little while went by and it was time to head out to visit our moms and I went out to the porch to get Colin...I kid you not he looked right at me and said " Ha-E to Ya" (Happy to ya)!!!!  OMG, that made my day even better and ofcourse I had tears filling my eyes, it's the small things that mean the most!!!!  I love my guys, I'm truly blessed and this Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful!!! 

Such a Blessing!

I tell ya, these days are getting away from me lately.  It seems every time I turn around, another week has gone by.  It's usually like this though, or I should say, since school has entered our lives this time of year always gets busy. Hard to believe the school year is coming to a close!  It's been a really good year though for my boys at their "new" schools and that has been heaven.  A lot has happened over the past year, but where I sit today, it's nice to be here.   This summer will be so fun, since we don't have to factor in a "move" and I'm so excited about that.  It's really a great feeling finally being where we want to be and raising our boys, but last summer was very hectic trying to get here.  Now that we are here, we are enjoying the memories we are making. These past few weeks have been fun and we got the opportunity to celebrate 12 years of marriage here in our new home.  Yes, for those of you that know the back story, Brenton and I sure do have a great story to tell, but I'll spare you all the details....however, we have chosen to celebrate our years combined from both our marriages, b/c we don't ever want to forget our journey.  It's been a ride, but I'm amazed how far we've come.  To be here now, with a great man, raising our family together is a wonderful feeling.  I'm truly blessed and I thank God every day for him.  Anyway, we didn't really do anything for our anniversary, we chose to celebrate with our boys and enjoy being home.  I love the simplicity of things and honestly, it was a great evening!

We have come a long way and looking back, falling apart was such a blessing in disguise.  There is not one thing I would change about our life together, we have accomplished so much, and now have 2 amazing little guys. 

our blessings

TRUTH!!!

Also, a few weeks ago, Brenton and Ethan had "Buddy Time" (as Ethan calls it).  We have decided that with everything that is going on with Colin, we want to make sure that Ethan knows how special he is to us, as well.  He's now at the age that we are letting him choose what he wants to do in those special times and this time he chose to go to the movie theater and watch Spiderman 2.  My son, who loves to get into character and play his favorites, got dressed up in his new costume and off they went.  They had the best time and these moments are ones he'll remember forever.