FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL....Kindergarten, 2nd grade, & 3rd grade

I know the pics aren't in order but I can't stay awake any longer or spend the time on putting them in order.

I am exhausted from this first day.....

The race was on this morning. I don't know why we were running behind. Oh maybe because I have one more that needs to be completely ready with the others. The kids were up and ready. I couldn't just have Emily jump in with her pajamas on like we had done many mornings last year. She needed to be ready with hair done and all. That alone can take some serious time. She had her outfit picked out and on and I did her hair and then she came out to the kitchen and acted all disgusted and told me that I didn't even get her a new red backpack for today. If looks could kill I tell you. I couldn't find a red one and then one that was a decent size for her small frame. Anyway, she sweetened up and was fine about it. She used her purple one and was just fine. Stupid me didn't account for the busloads of people at the school this morning so of course I can't find a place to park down any street even remotely close to the school. I felt bad but I had the boys jump out and go to class so that they wouldn't be late and so I could take off and find a street to park on and get Emily to class. Her class had just walked in and so i opened the door and she just went in like this was nothing new. She is so grown up...it scares me. :D I felt bad about the boys but I think they were fine to go to class without mom holding their hands.

Here is Ellie at the barn watching the animals. She was so cute. It was fun just having her alone. That doesn't happen too often around here.
I left and met some friends at Avila Barn. We were celebrating the first day of school and a little new found freedom we were feeling. It was fun. Ellie loved the animals after she warmed up a bit to them and played with some friends. I left from there and went back to the school to pick up Emily. I had to be early for the pick up at leat. It was so cute to see them all walk out. She loved it and is all of a sudden 25 around here. Now that she is in kindergarten she said that she isn't going to get in my bed tonight. She always comes in in the wee hours. She asked me why I didn't just drop her off today. Oh, she wants to be so grown up and do the same things as her brothers. She was also a bit mad when I told her that she wasn't riding the bus home today. I was going to do the first day or two and then she could ride. They are all geared up to ride it tomorrow. The bus only picks up 15 minutes earlier than we would be leaving so it isn't so bad. Emily told me that she could go to the bus stop all by herself. Mitch told me he didn't need me to walk him to the bus stop. They are big now. We'll see how it goes. I want to meet the driver of course and hope that Emily is not stuck on the back of the bus. Emily also told me that I didn't need to go meet the bus driver that I could just wave at him/her as they turned to go down our street. She has a reason/answer for everything. Her teacher painted her hand and she made a very cute hands picture of her first day of Kindergarten. She had a good time and is looking forward to going back tomorrow. The following pics are of her when I picked her up. She had a great day.


Casey had a great day and was so cute this morning. He told Mitty on the way to school..... "Mitty, I'm not nervous at all for today. It's because dad gave me a blessing. I love that! That's my boy Caser!! Todd gave each of them a blessing last night to start off the school year. It was very nice and the kids enjoyed receiving them.

Mitch enjoyed his day but I think he was tired tonight as he was getting ready for football. I think he is worn out.

After I picked up Emily, we met Todd and then I ran an errand and then I went home and literally only had about 25 minutes before I had to get back in the car and pick up the boys. It was fun being right up by their classrooms when they came out. So far so good with the teachers.

Once we got home, the kids were hungry, they did a couple of chores and then it was about time to get ready for football. The day just kept going. After practice, I ran to the store and then home to quickly whip out a dinner and get these children into bed. I topped off our night with Root beer floats for family home evening while we discussed the day. They were happy about the root beer floats. I thought they would love it.

Tomorrow the kids will take the bus to and from school. Let's hope this works out! Ellie has a dr.'s appt. in the morning. Darn it. I'm just sure there is going to be a shot involved. I need to get to bed. I am falling asleep here at the computer but made myself type out some of the funny things that were said and just the comments from today. They are all happy as of right now.

Emily's Kindergarten Tea/School Starting Soon :D

We are 2 days until school starts. I am getting excited for my new schedule and the kids are very excited about starting. Yeah....we are all happy about something.

Emily had her Kindergarten Tea yesterday and that went really well. I love Kindergarten rooms and how fun they are. How could a child not love Kindergarten? :D That is a time of life that I will never forget. I remember everything about Kindergarten. I loved it and loved my teacher. I hope Emily will have a great experience this year. We saw many kids from the area that are starting Kindergarten as well. She has quite a few kids that we know in her class and in the neighbor class. She will have fun and feel right at home. I don't worry about Emily. She can totally handle everything on her own. Sometimes I can't believe she is only going to be 5 and not 15. I was commenting to a friend that it is so nice how the 3rd child going to Kindergarten is so easy. She knows the drill from her brothers experience(nothing is new) and she wants to be going because now she is big like her brothers.:D

I am hoping for a good year. It seems that the boys got teachers that are awesome. Everyone loves Mitty's teacher(Mr. Danielson) and I have only heard good things about the teacher Casey got (Mrs. O'Connell). Mitch is loving that his teacher is a man. So far we know of a couple friends that are in there with him. I can't believe I will be able to run errands with only 1 child in tow. This is a milestone for me. Sometimes when the kids were younger there were many days that I felt I would never see this day. Time flies and so much changes in such a short time. I can only hope that I have taught and am teaching them what they need to know for them to have happiness in their lives.

The house is going crazy this Saturday morning so I better go.

Football/School starting soon/random catch up...

I am hoping that I will find a minute to blog more once school starts. I don't know why I think I will have more time but we'll see. This sports season and school starting is going to throw me into a spin I'm afraid.

Mitch is enjoying football. He is timid about getting in there and hitting hard with the pads. We keep telling him to pretend it is he and his brother. He never seems to shy away from Casey. He said he doesn't want to get hurt. I think it takes a bit for the new ones to get used to going for it and hitting hard/tackling like you mean it. We'll see how it goes. We're on our 4th week of football everyday for 2 hours and it just about put me over the edge last week. I had to boycott a practice. I dropped Mitch off but I had to go home and get dinner ready. I had to take a break from that field/juggling the kids with other kids and the wrong kind of kids, etc. I had Todd go over after work and watch for a bit and then bring him home. It felt good to stay home. Of course the first thing out of Mitty's mouth when he got home was that he missed me not being on the sidelines watching him. That pretty much has put me right back on the field. :D Hopefully he won't feel too nervous about playing and get in there and have some fun.

I can't believe school starting is fast approaching....Monday is the big day. This Friday Emily has a kindergarten tea to go to and meet her teacher and see the classroom. I was so excited to read that she got Casey's 1st grade teacher this last year. She had told me that she was teaching Kindergarten this year and that many of the kids siblings were starting kindergarten this year and so maybe we will get some of the same parents. I am hoping for Mitch to get his kindergarten teacher because she is teaching 3rd grade now. That would just be great. I love when teachers know you and you know them and there isn't anything new to get used to. It makes the year a bit easier.

Emily has been with my mom this week. My mom and sister, Barbie, came up last Thursday night and stayed the weekend with us. It was very fun and I always enjoy having visitors. We went to our ward beach party, had Yogurt Creations twice in a few days, hit Taco Rico, went on a walk through the village, watched many exciting races starring Michael Phelps (He is awesome!!!) and just relaxed. I loved every minute of them being here. My mom agreed to take Emily home with her on Sunday and let her stay this week. She has never been away this long. We are all sad and missing her here at home. THe house is so much more quiet when one child is away. It's amazing how it makes such a difference. The boys miss her and are anxious to have her back. They keep telling me how they love it when she is here and rides bikes with them. Mitch told me how he missed her getting up in the morning and coming out to say hi to he and Casey. Very cute. It is good for the kids to be away from each other so that they can appreciate how much they love their siblings. I will go and meet my mom in Camarillo on Thursday evening to pick her up. I am excited to see Miss Em Em!! She has told me that she misses me on the phone but I really think she is doing great and having a good time with grandma and grandpa. Thanks Mom!! It is so easy with just 3. It has been a real break for me.

Football rules our evenings these days and so it's about that time again to get going and pack up the bag for our stay on the field. Pictures will have to come later.

We Are Half Way Through Hell Week (Football) :D

We made it half way through hell week or should I say Mitty has. :D He is doing so well and handling it like a champ. He is so cute to watch. It's so fun to really see him trying his hardest. All of the boys are so cute. They are truly being worked out.

On Monday, I was a bit worried because after his 2 hour practice Mitch's face wasn't looking so hot. He told me that the helmet was hurting his head so badly. He even went as fas as to say that he didn't want to go back and wear that helmet again. I felt really bad and reassured him that he just wasn't used to wearing a helmet and that it needed to be somewhat tight for his safety. Tuesday before practice we went and tried on different helmet but ended up keeping with what he had. A coach told him the same thing about it needing to be tight to be safe. I told him to try it out again and see if it was any better after Tuesday's practice. After Tuesday's practice, he came running to tell me that his helmet was fine and that he got used to it and it didn't bother him anymore. Oh blessed day!! He had a big smile on his face. Mitch told me that a coach told him that he couldn't tire Mitty out. Mitty just goes and goes and never acts a bit tired. Oh I wish I had the energy of an 8 year old. Mitch keeps telling me he likes it. They really are working these boys. It's 2 hours straight of doing lunges back and forth, running laps around the field, doing push ups, stomach exercises, running sprints and more drills. Today I thought some of these boys were going to die. Coach Mike (the tattoed guy) had the boys running 6 laps around the field before they even started the drills. The boys had to stay in a single file line without any gaps in the line as they ran their laps. If they didn't, they had to run another lap until they got it right. Mitch was just going around and around with a smile on his face. He is so excited to have his head sweating (that is a real sign of being an older boy I guess :D) After each session of drills the group would run another lap around. Mitch said that by the end of practice he had ran 10 laps around the field. That's my boy!! He said a coach today told him again, "we just can't seem to tire you out." Good job Mitty!! I just love that he gives it his all. That's all that I can ask for.

Friday we will know what team he is on and Saturday he gets his equipment (pads, etc.) I am so proud of MItty and his endurance. He really is working hard and I love to see that. Next week is going to be a new experience..hitting with pads on. Oh boy!

Today was a busy day for me in the kitchen. I made dinner/dessert for a friend who had surgery on her neck. I also planned ahead for my family and put some chicken in the crock pot with salsa, onions, and garlic to be ready for us tonight after practice. The chicken turned out great. Some had chicken enchiladas, some had chicken nachos, others had bean tostadas and one had a chicken soft taco. It was a circus at the table this evening. It's nice to hear the house quiet at this hour after a long day. Thanks to Todd for doing the dishes while I laid down with each child (nightly ritual). I ended up falling asleep with Casey and woke up an hour later. I can hardly stay awake with each child. They are usually asking me mom, mom, what did you say? I will be dreaming I guess. Mom, you know exactly what I am talking about. I was singing a song to Emily tonight and I guess faded before the end of the song. She woke me saying, Mom, you didn't finish the song. Too funny!

I'm off to bed so that I can get a bit of sleep before the alarm is going off so dang early.

We Survived the First Week of Football/New Church Calling

Mitch started his first year of football a week ago. Oh boy is it different than any other sport we have been involved in. Casey's comments right off the bat after hearing this man yell so that all of the boy's could hear him was, "Mom, he is a very mean coach." It was the whole intimidation factor for sure. It worked with Casey the first day. After a couple of days of watching on the sidelines, Casey is wanting to play next year

The man really is a nice guy and handles the group well. I was a bit skeptical of the whole crowd that football brought out to the field. A bit rough around the edges to say the least. It was nice to see a bunch of family's from the other ward that I know out on the field. What I have learned so far is that there is no messing around in football that's for sure. Don't even think about getting there a minute late. Football is all about being there and ready to play/practice 15-20 minutes early. I have to admire anyone trying to teach kids to be on time. I try to do that everyday. Not always successful. It has been really good for MItty. He seems to love it so far but this week starts "Hell Week". Last week was Clinic Week where they learn about the basics of football, do different drills at different stations and soak it all in. We'll see if his attitude changes after tonight.

The hours have been a bit rough for us. It has been from 5-7pm every night and will continue to be that for the next few weeks. Oh boy! Talk about trying to plan dinner and be the super mom. It's been hard to get the kids to bed at a decent time since we are eating dinner so late. Good thing they don't have school to wake up for. We'll see if I can do better with dinner this week. It's called crock pot or make our dinner in the morning so that it is ready to bake when we get home.

It has been funny to see Mitty wanting to do so much exercising during the day. He takes his shirt off and wants to run on the treadmill. He and Casey ride their bikes and do laps around the block. How much is too much for an 8 year old on a treadmill. He doesn't seem to tire out. How can I not encourage good habits of exercising? The problem is that Emily and Casey then want to run on the treadmill. It's not such a big deal having Casey walk on it but Emily is just too young and little to be on it. I have tried to tell them to just get outside and run around and play. That is how kids exercise. If it's not one thing it's another.

This week should be a bit more exciting to watch. The boys got their helmets last Saturday and will be using them this week. Still no pads. That comes this weekend. We will find out his team this Friday as well. It's exciting to be in a new sport. I'm excited to watch the games.






It is so funny to have Todd ask me if I would serve in a new church calling. He called me to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary. I was released as Mitty's teacher and yesterday was my first Sunday in the new position. Not bad at all. I'm excited! I have sharing time in 2 weeks and feel good that I know what I'm going to do. Now, I just have to get to work on it. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas of what works in your ward, please pass them on.

Time to go, the kids are up and in full swing.