It's never too late!

Emma's been working on becoming proficient on her bike for some time now.  The problem is that she's tall but doesn't weigh much...her bike is too small for her height and the next size of bike is too heavy for her.  We kept Ryan's bike (which is one size up from hers), and she's finally able to muscle her way down the road on it!  Bob took the kids to the school last week to practice and, by golly, she's got it!
(All photos by Ryan)

The Fourth of July

Hi, Mom!  Hi, Cassie! Hi, Erin!  And a warm hello to anyone who might still be following this black hole that I call a blog.  :)   I sincerely love my little girl baby photos....but it's time for an update! We're enjoying our summer...survived the week of over 100 degree weather and now we're really enjoying staying in the 90s.  We've been playing tennis, bike riding, participating in the library's summer reading, playing with friends, taken a few sight seeing trips around the area, worked in the yard, and enjoyed a game night with friends.  We have a couple of trips coming up before school starts.  We're looking forward to spending some time with family and are very excited to visit our old stomping grounds in Portland. 

Here's a link to what I've been up to with my crafts:
Click here

We hope that everyone had a wonderful, safe Fourth of July.
See you soon!

{Eight}

{Emmalee ~ One Month Old}

{6 1/2 Months}

{5 Months}

{7 Months}

{Ryan 4 1/2 years, Emmalee 5 months}

{Eight Years Old}

 

Dear Emmalee,

 

Oh, dear Emmalee.  I don't even know where to start.  Looking back at the pictures of your first year makes me smile, but they also make me sad.  You are not a little girl anymore!  It's so hard for all of us to believe that you are EIGHT years old.

 

Here's a little about you at eight years old:

You almost always have a smile on your face.  Unless your brother has really made you mad

or if you see something that makes you sad, you are smiling.  When you do your belly laugh, the rest of us just have to join in.

 

Your favorite word is "meep."  What does meep mean?

According to you, it means whatever you want it to mean, except for bad words.

 

Your daddy just said yesterday that we need to have a video camera on

you at all times.  You so often say things that just crack us up.  Your teacher comes up to me just about every day to tell me another "Emmalee story." 

 

You have several really good friends, and I love to watch you play with them.  When you are together,

you and your friends have such great imaginations.  You get your toys out (lots of them!), and I hear over and over, "And then let's pretend, or "How about we do this?"  I love that

you are able to tell stories and use your imagination so well.

 

You are in your third year of your three year "Let's Play Music" piano course.

Over the past two years, you've learned so much about music and piano and now it's

all coming together.  You'll go downstairs, sit at the piano,

and just start playing.

 

You are a very brave little girl!  Just before Winter Break, you had your music program at school.  The day before the program, the music teacher asked if you'd perform a solo speaking part throughout one of the songs.  I fully expected you to say no as you have a pretty strong case of stage fright.  I was so amazed when you came home with the music, the CD and started practicing.

You got up on that stage and did a great job.

 

You LOVE school.  You have an amazing teacher, and I think that has a lot to do with it.  You ask for me to give you math worksheets on the weekend.  Your favorite subjects are Math, Readers Workshop, Art, PE, Music, and Computer Lab.  You still spell phonetically, so we are working on that.  Your grades are awesome...and you're becoming an even more well-rounded person.  Today, you were a bit quiet.  I asked what was wrong and you said you were "school-sick," kinda like homesick.

 

Ryan would like you to know that you're loud, extremely energetic and loves to play outside. 

{smile}

 

Your most favorite thing to now is play with the kitten, Dash.  You love to play

with her, chase her, take care of her, talk to her ....

 

My most favorite part about you is your heart.  You have the sweetest, softest heart.

You care so much about others, and you'll go out of your way to help

those that need it.  Just today you told me that the most important thing to you

is your family.  We still get those monkey hugs that we love (yes,  you're still a tiny thing and we can still lift you). 

 

We are looking forward to see how you grow and change between now and your next

birthday.  We are so lucky to be your family.

 

Love ~ Mom

 

 

{Twelve}



Ryan - Six Months



 

One Year Old
 

Age Twelve!

 

This is the very same glare we used to get when he was two and we'd say, "Glare at Mommy!"
It was so cute...back then!!
Luckily, it's always followed by a smile.

 

PLEASE no more pictures!

At the end of fifth grade (June 2012), I was able to rest my chin
on the top of Ryan's head.  Six months later, I can't even do it
on tippy-toes!

 

 

Dear Ryan,

 

I'm not even sure where to start with my letter to you this year.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you are TWELVE YEARS OLD!

How did that happen?  I know it's a cliche, but it really does seem like

yesterday when we brought you home from the hospital. 

And now we seem to have a mini-adult living with us.

 

Here's a little about you....for when you {hopefully} look back on this.

 

You are the most well-rounded kid I know.  You are interested in so many things! 

You still love books and read SO fast.  You sixth grade teacher has asked you to alternate between fiction and non-fiction, so that's slowed you down a bit.

Recesses are spent either playing flag football (gives me multiple min-heart attacks everytime you go

for the ball), soccer or a made-up game with your friends.  This winter you plan on playing basketball on the school's team and will run track this spring.

You have straight A's so far in sixth grade.  Your teacher works with you to keep you from being bored and is very good at challenging you.  He treats you like an adult, which I think

makes you want to succeed even more.

You are in your second year of playing Tenor Saxaphone for the school's band and are in your third year of choir.  You were also one of the very few sixth graders selected to play in the

All-City Honor Band.  You tried out with your tenor, but they really needed a Baritone sax player.  Your regular band teacher found a Bari sax for you the very day you started practicing with the honor band...and you just jumped right in. 

You were given a shotgun for your 12th birthday and are planning on going hunting this next year.

We are looking for a Hunter's Safety course so you can get your license.  I appreciate so

much the time you've spent with Hop learning how to be responsible with firearms.

You also still enjoy airplanes and flying.  Uncle Max took you for a ride in the Warhawk's L-19 Birddog this fall.  It was your first flight in quite a while. 

This summer we spent a few weeks at the lake, and you were able to go kneeboarding.  This past week, you went snowboarding with your friends.  You are so much braver than me!  I'm glad that you aren't a wimp like me about some things and are willing to try new things!

And, lastly, one of your favorite pasttimes is still picking on your sister.  However, mixed in there

 every once in a while, are moments of sweetness when you help her with something, buy her something or play with her. 

 

I love your character.  You are very responsible and often act much older than your age.  You know the difference between right and wrong, and you're not afraid to say no to those things you know aren't right.  You are kind to others...both people you know and strangers.  You help others when you see the need.  You still come to me for a hug and will still tell me you love me (I'm so thankful!!!).  When you see me at work on the playground, you don't turn your head in embarrassment {smile} but you and your friends come over to say hi {or try to steal my hat and gloves if it's cold outside}.

 

I know that this next year will prove to be interesting with you nearing the teen years and entering junior high.  I know that I'll need to have more patience, be stronger, have thicker skin...but I also

know that it's going to be so fun watching you grow this year.

 

Love~Mom

 

First Day of School

After a very fun-filled summer, it's that time again.
Once school starts, it always seems like the days get a little bit of a gold tinge
to them.  The mornings and evenings are crisper, the sun not quite overhead anymore,
bedtimes are easier ~ Fall is one of my favorite times of the year.
~~~
This first day of school is a bit different from years past. 
For Ryan, there were no classroom hugs, and I had to force out a smile
for a photo.  He's very excited to be there; so excited that he woke up 30 minutes before his alarm to get ready for the day.  But he's more conscience of what others think of him, so no more hugs
in the classroom.

Last year's first day of school was hard for Emma.  When I left the classroom, tears were hovering on her lower lashes.  I made the mistake of agreeing when she asked if I'd come back after I took Ryan to his classroom.  When I left the second time, the tears were flowing.  This year was so much better.  I think it was because we spend two mornings at the school over the past two weeks helping her first grade teacher get her classroom ready.  And we also met her second grade teacher while we were there.  So when she went in this morning, she put her stuff away, gave her new teacher a hug and the art project she'd made for her, sat for a picture for me and then headed out to play.  I just realized, as I'm writing this, that I didn't even get a hug and kiss! 

This first day of school is different for me, too.  No more just being home for me.
I'm now officially an employee of the school district.  I'm what the kids
(and some onery relatives) like to call a "duty."  I'll be at the school from 11:45-2:45 everyday, keeping an eye on the kids in the lunchroom and on the playground.  I'm looking forward to it....
the kids in our school are mostly very well-behaved, and I get to see my kiddos throughout the day.  Emma, when she found out that I would be working there said two things.  The first:  "But, Mom, you already work at the school!"  To which I replied, "Yes, but now I'll get paid!"   The second (with a sad face):  "I don't know if I should come and be with you all recess or play with my friends."  To which I replied:  "Come over and tell me hi, give me a hug and then GO PLAY!"

 

Things I'm {loving} today

*  So very happy that it's 76 degrees at one in the afternoon, and all of the

windows are wide open.

*Sixteen days until school starts....and until my

new job at the school starts!  I get to be with the

kids for three hours a day.

*Kids who love the water and friends with pools

*The beauty in nature

*For this moment, at least, these two are getting along.

*Looking forward to a bit of time with my mom at the scrapbook store on Saturday.

*Fourteen years with Bob (Aug 8)

*One last trip to La Grande to see family

Anderson Ranch Reservoir

Summer is flying by!
We spent last weekend at Anderson Ranch Reservoir with my parents, Max and Amanda, and
Amanda's dad.  The weather was gorgeous, the water cool...

~~~
It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the first of August!
School starts on the 27th of the month, so
we'll be busy trying to squeeze as much as we can into the next 26 days.
Enjoy your day!