whobody is a little nervous for first grade?

Nervous?

I'm pretty sure it is mostly Mommy.

I cannot believe that my biggest little guy is already a FIRST grader.

My friend said it best last night....

"kindergarten is for little boys, but grades are for big boys". 

I'm not so sure I'm liking the whole idea of my kids actually growing up! :) I know, I know....that is what they are supposed to do! Still having a hard time with it..oh well. 

Doesn't he look so old?

Keaton is pretty excited though! Last night we took him to "meet the teacher" open house at school.  The first person we saw when we walked in the door was his beloved kindergarten teacher..which I'm pretty sure just about brought both Keaton and I to tears.

He is nervous about having a new teacher and not being in class with the same kids as last year (namely, Lily).  After we saw Mrs. Tujetsch he kept rubbing his eyes saying "my eyes just keep itching!".  He did get pretty excited after we went and saw his new classroom.  He just can't believe that he gets his own desk! He will LOVE that!

Our morning went well....I actually had to wake him up to get ready (very unusual because normally he is up at 6!)   After he was ready we went outside to do our photo shoot. :) Nash happily joined us in his jammie shirt and diaper.  I did put shorts and shoes on him before the bus showed up.

"CHEEEEESE!"

After we took pictures, the boys rode bikes until the bus came. (Lola was still fast asleep.) We are pretty lucky because our bus drives RIGHT into our yard so he can wait in front of the garage (instead of by the busy highway).

And then....it happened. The bus drove into our yard and whisked Keaton off to FIRST GRADE! As soon as the bus pulled up, Keaton threw down his bike and ran to the door.

I barely got a picture!

Then, we waved and the bus drove away...Nash was pretty disappointed he didn't get to go too....and, as you can see, a little confused!

I'm sure we will have a great day here at home! Lola's preschool teacher is coming to visit after lunch! Here's to another "first day of school" down!

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't.  ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

whobody got to ride on a fairy?....I mean, ferry?

Yesterday we sadly realized that summer is coming to an end....so we got out my handy dandy notebook, with lists upon lists...and found the list of "things we want to do this summer".  We looked at the list, and found that we had only missed one thing on the list (well, 2, but who is counting)...."ride on the Cassville Ferry".

After Nash woke up from his nap, we loaded the kids in the car and told them we were going for a drive.  I referred to it as a "Sunday Funday Drive" one time, and Lola took it from there. :)  We went to Subway and then headed south out of Guttenberg. Instantly Keaton said "Are we going on the ferry you drive your car on?" we said "Do you want to?" of course they said "Yeah!!!"

When we pulled up to the landing the ferry was JUST pulling away. "AUGH!" Oh well, that just meant we had 30 to 40 minutes to run around on the gravel beach...and throw rocks in the river.

Keaton loved throwing the rocks! 

 Nash LOVED the trains going by on the other side of the river and kept yelling...

"THERE IT IS!"

 "THERE IT IS!!!!"

 "THERE IT IS!!!!!"

 Lola posing for pics....

 "Mom, how is this one?"

 "How about this?"

The kids actually throwing rocks...it was a long wait for the ferry, but we had lots of fun!

 We are finally on the ferry...and were the only ones so we had the full attention of the attendant!

 The kids eating their tootsie roll treat from the attendant...and being surprised at the ferry driver honking at them!

 Family picture: Lola was the only one who "dressed up" for the evening. :)

 Nash trying to escape the ferry (not really, but loved to try to climb the fence...we obviously stopped this)

When we got to Cassville we just played at the playgrounds along the river! There are 2 really nice playgrounds and the kids had a BLAST!

We stopped at a gas station and got the kiddos some gummy bears for the trip home!

It was a great night!

whobody had fun with friends?

A week or so ago, one of my dearest friends, "Lynnie" (according to Lola) visited. 

Lucky for the kids, she brought along her kids for entertainment! They all had a great time....as you can see.  For some reason, Keaton, Lola, "Blonde" Lilly, and Fletcher (and Nash) always get along VERY WELL....so, Lynn and I always have a great time catching up!

I just thought these pictures were adorable and I had to share them!

 Notice Nash...always wanting to be in on the action.

Notice Fletcher...wondering what those crazies are doing!

whobody wanted to take home the animals?

So...our kids would have loved to take home the animals at the fair...except, of course, all the huge cows....'cause they were too big.....and the pigs....'cause they are too stinky.  They would have been more than happy to end up with goats, sheep, calves, rabbits, birds, peacocks and the llama.

I had so many great pictures of the kids in the barns, I couldn't choose just a few....enjoy! (This was only 3 of the 4 nights!)

they all loved the goats...and we kept Nash contained, for obvious reasons....

Keaton posing in front of his favorite sheep!

so soft!!!

Lola's #1 favorite animal was the peacock. She was very disappointed that the peacock never showed its tail when I was taking the picture.

Keaton and his llama.

fun in the Garny barn

 a little scary...but petting a cow (a calf, actually)

 not scary at all petting a cow....of course

Lola posing next to her other favorite thing in the barn, wheelbarrows full of manure.

She requested this photo...

petting the pigs

 Nash even got his hand on some pigs

While a goat was being milked outside of a barn, the owners were feeding it...and they took the bucket of feed out from in front of the goat and let the kids feed it from their hands!

This was a highlight for me!

 and this....was a highlight for Lola (can you see the joy?)

As you can see, we had lots of fun in the barns. Just like Lola said last night

"Bye, bye fair, see ya never!....I mean, next year!"

whobody wishes the fair was EVERY day?

Keaton does.

And he has told me that numerous times last night and today. The fair is great!

He gets pizza 4 nights in a row. Ice Cream 4 nights in a row. Chocolate Milk 4 nights in a row. Sees animals 4 nights in a row.  Popcorn 4 nights in a row.  Ride rides 4 nights in a row.  See Friends 4 nights in a row.

AND 10:30 p.m. bedtime 4 nights in a row! 

No wonder Keaton loves the fair.

We actually all love the fair. We went all 4 nights and enjoyed every one! We enjoyed food, rides, animals, music, motocross, bullriding....and so much more!  I took SO many pictures, and tried to just include the best.... (there will be a whole other post with most of the animal pictures). 

We always started out the night with supper. Then, we would head down and watch them milk some cows......and then head into the barns for our animal tour!

a.n.i.m.a.l.s.

milking cows

bompa sheryl

group picture in pig barn.

 yes. Lola thought the pigs were stinky....but they were still her second favorite.

barn fun.

After the animals, we usually "sat" on the tractors....gotta love free, simple entertainment.

t.r.a.c.t.o.r.s.

 (Lola thought it was extremely important to make sure her tattoos

were showing in the pictures.)

 buckle up for safety (and for containment)

 "mom, take my picture"

"if I can just get this thing started, Mom wouldn't have to push me in my stroller..."

After the tractors...we would usually head to the "Midway"....to ride the rides... The kids loved loved loved this! I, however, would have probably been more comfortable if they would have just played in the parking lot. Yikes....I'm sure the rides weren't that junky when we were kids. ;)

r.i.d.e.s.

the train

 all 3 kids full of joy on the "spinney ride"

This is a funny one....I had the great idea that Jason climb up this blow up slide with Nash to let him go down it... I didn't know if Jason was going to forgive me.  It was not easy for him to climb up the "blow up ladder" trying to carry Nash and himself :) At least they cleaned up the slide before they brought it. GROSS! But the kids loved it.

 On the last night of the fair we let each kid play ONE game...and they both chose to shoot at SOLO cups with cork guns. They had a blast. Keaton earned a "big" prize and Lola earned a "medium" prize...but the nice Carnival guy let them both choose a "big" prize....and here they are....

Lola desperately wants to keep her penguin in the freezer so it will be more comfortable in our house. I did put my foot down on that one.....

After the rides, we went and got ice cream....visited with friends....then stopped for popcorn and went and watched the entertainment! We really had lots of fun! Hopefully next year we can release Nash from the jail that is his stroller a little more often....

f.o.o.d.  &  f.r.i.e.n.d.s.

 ice cream

keaton and his "bestie" lily

As long as NASH could be double fisting popcorn, he was happy as a clam!

I know the kids would love for this to be every night....but as much as I LOVE the fair, I am so glad it is only once a year! Yikes.... I know, I know, just wait until they get in 4H.