Some (less rainy) August Days

I'm not sure why it was SOO wet this summer, but on the direr days...

 LOTS of baseball practice and games were attended.

We also went to tennis once or twice a week--but I guess I forgot to take any pictures...

And we spent LOTS of time outside--riding bikes, blowing bubbles, sidewalk chalk drawing, taking care of our babies...

 

 Watching spiders create webs...

 Evaleigh had a little friend over to play ("Mem-Ma") and they were walking from the front to the back yard to go on the slide (while I quickly went through the house to unlock the back door and meet them at the gate, which had also been locked).  Emma ran through the gate and to the playground. But, Evaleigh came to a dead stop part way to the gate.  She looked kind of nervous, but was still smiling, so I asked her if something was wrong and asked her to come with me into the back to sit with me so I could talk to her.  She started slowly walking backwards, looking towards the corner, while singing the Itsy-Bisty Spider song--one of her all time favorites! (bee-ta, bee-ta, bee-ta--with her fingers looking like a spider going up the spout...OWwn, OWwn, OWwn--as she lowers her arms like the rain coming down). I looked in the corner and discovered what she was so nervous about:

This spider was HUGE and had a very cool looking web from the side of the house to the back fence--covering the entire corner that she was fixated on.  Apparently she likes the song a bit better than the real life spider in action.  So I went and picked her up and brought her through the backyard and away from the spider.

Then the rain came back...and it rained a LOT. (No, the left corner of our backyard is not a pond.)

While they are away...

Evaleigh helps me "fold" laundry (by throwing socks into the trash--maybe that's why I have SOO many unmatched pairs).

(and by trying on a few things, just to be sure they didn't shrink...)

She tries to see how many kix she can fit into her mouth at once.

She begs for "selfies" to be taken and then says "I see, I SEE."

She climbs anything and EVERY thing. (Then points innocently to the play kitchen like she "just" got up on the table to see if I wanted anything from the top of the stove??)

She tastes the dirt to see if it's good while she's waiting outside for the kids to come home.

She learned how to do a somersault on her own and proudly showed the family once everyone was home again.

She has grown LOTS of hair and LOTS of teeth.

And she can proudly tell anyone who might ask that she is one.

First Day of School

 Addellyn started 2nd grade, Coleson is FINALLY in Kindergarten, and my 9 year old Makinzie is starting 5th grade?!? Yikes!

 They were a bit excited to get to the bus stop...

 He was VERY happy to be going to school on the bus (I begged him to let me drive him to school the first week and he begged me to let him ride the bus--so he won).  However, this SUPER happy face was a bit deflated after the "really long and hot" bus ride home and the "not so great" day at school (he feels very old, very tall, and a bit annoyed by all of the material they are being presented at school--it's just too EASY. "I can tell they are giving the other kids that cry and whine about being there the most attention," "we only sang songs like twinkle, twinkle little star and traced things that I can do myself, probably so it could make the other kids feel better, but it was REALLY boring,""I just want to learn COOL stuff" )

 She is growing up WAY too fast--she proudly wore the shirt she bought with her own money on  the first day.

 Addellyn made a necklace with her name on it and a special necklace for her teacher (at least she still acts like a little girl in some respects!)  She was thrilled to have her own pair of skinny jeans.

She was excited to leave the house in the morning, she thought the bus was a wonderful thing to see,

and she couldn't wait to go see it again when they were coming home.  

I really wish I had taken pictures of them getting off of the bus too.  And video taped my conversations with them...It's sad to see them get on the bus super excited and then see them bummed as they get off.  After the first few days the bus ride got much easier and the girls had happy faces as they arrived home--but Coleson continues to come home disappointed.  Hopefully we can figure out a way to remedy that.

This girl LOVES riding in the stroller!  We go for a long walk after the kids get on the bus each day, she chants "shroller" and "go, go, GO" as the kids put their shoes on and prepare to head out the door each morning, she can't wait!