Kindergarten and First Grade

It was a day of firsts for Haden and I a couple of weeks ago. We both had our FIRST day back to school. Haden started Kindergarten and I started my first day of teaching 1st grade. We were both exhausted by the end of the day and slept in on that following Saturday. It was nice to take Haden to school with me! When school is over, he just walks down to my room or plays with some of the other kids whose moms or grandma's work at the school. It has worked out really well!
I have 23 students and they are a GREAT group. I am a pretty lucky teacher! I am really liking this change that I have made. It is certainly different than teaching special education, but I am adjusting! I miss my old students but I am busy keeping up with 6 and 7 year olds instead!
Haden is in Mrs. Hundley's class this year. She is also a friend of mine, so Haden is learning that he should probably not call her, "mom's friend" any more! I have also explained to him that he should not call her Heather either, even if that is her first name! He is loving it and thinks it is great that he takes his lunch and sits next to his friend Brayden. But best of all, he has 3 recesses!! I am happy that he is talking to his teacher and friends! :)

Great Wolf Lodge

Wyatt and I took the boys to the Great Wolf Lodge at the very beginning of August. We had a great time! The last time the boys stayed in a hotel, Brody was 3 months old! So the boys LOVED the hotel! Whenever anyone would ask Brody about the little trip, Brody would tell them that there were beds there!
The boys have turned into little fish over the summer so they loved being in the water and going down the slides. The liked to stand (at a good distance away) and get splashed by the huge bucket of water. It would dump GALLONS of water down on the people below. After we all swam, we got our clothes changed and introduced the boys to the arcade world. Skeeball was a little difficult for the boys. We had balls going EVERYWHERE! We then whacked a mole, which mommy loves. I seem to have gotten better with age! But the day could not be complete without a racing game!

Movie Night

The boys LOVE to have movie nights and I have to admit that I do to! We have the same routine. We get on our PJ's, make a "special" drink, pop popcorn (who has a movie without it!!), and veg out with our blankets on the floor! It is SO much fun!!! Sometimes some of us (Brody and Mommy) fall asleep and sometimes we don't. Either way it is fun!

Farmer Haden

Haden has been "farming" out at Grandma's house this summer. He has planted carrots, cucumbers, corn and an ENORMOUS sunflower (which I have no picture of!) The best part of his faming is that likes to sample everything out of his garden. GUESS WHAT!!! He loves it all! What a great way to get a child to eat his veggies!

Television

Sorry...no pics to go with my post! You will have to just read!! I remember when I had Haden I was going to be that mom that limits the amount of tv that he watches. Then....along came Brody! I decided that maybe an occasional television show would not hurt a thing. The occasional show has turned into Daddy and boys time! Hey, they are all entertained and I am able to cut my way peacefully through the mounds of laminate!! The TV shows are then turned into the daily games that they play during the day! We have gone deer hunting in the tree stand (they will shush you if you are to loud!) They have been swamp loggers and crocodile hunters. When they come to school with me, they LOVE to play Ice Road Truckers with my chains for my students art work and they think it is great fun to catch crab over the sides of the desks. Most of these shows are seasonal. We are now starting into the season of what Brody calls the "Storminator." We are now catching bugs and snakes just like Billy on Billy the EXTERMINATOR! Brody has also been showing interest in a new show call Mary and Pickles. No, this is not on Disney or Nick Jr. We learned that he is really talking about American Pickers.
I have not really understood why my kids really have no interest in cartoons or shows on PBS, Disney, or Nick Jr. But on the bright side, they will know how to humanely catch a crocodile if one were to ever make its way into the yard!

Busy Month

This summer has gone by WAY to fast! It has been one of the more interesting summers by far! I have been frantically working in my new classroom and it is finally coming together! Wyatt has been back to work and is feeling MUCH better. He gets a little sore by the end of the day, but I guess that just comes with the territory of having a broken collar bone. The most exciting part of our summer has been my two little fish! Haden and Brody both took swimming lessons in June. Haden took private lessons so that he would be more comfortable with going under the water. Kadi started out with a little boy that she could not talk into going under the water to five days later, having a boy that she could not keep from under the water! WOW! I of course have no pictures. I cannot swim and take pictures all at one time. Plus, it is hard to take pictures of a little boy that will not stay on top of the water! We have been spending a lot of time at the Shawnee County North Swimming Pool. The boys LOVE it, as do their mother! We also discovered the "big blue slide." I think I could spend an entire day taking the boys and Olivia up the stairs and sliding into the big splash! I try to not let them go under, but each time I fail, and each time they come up coughing and laughing and begging to go again!
Last week we completed a week of bible school! I was the director for the second year in a row and seem to be getting the hang of organizing it. The boys had a good time and were EXHAUSTED by the afternoon so we all got in LOTS of naps!!!
This week I will be finishing up my second class towards my masters in education with a focus in reading. From the looks of things so far, I should be getting an A which means a 4.0! I am SUPER excited about it, as I have been working pretty hard!


Haden and Brody waiting to watch the fireworks with cousins Olivia, Joey and Sydney!


AHHHH!!! Smoke Bombs!!!!!


Wyatt grilling with one arm!!! Pretty impressive!


Chocolate Pudding Milkshakes mustaches! YUM!



A little time in the small, backyard pool! The slide in this pool is of NO comparison to SCN Pool!!





PANDAMANIA at VBS!!! God is Wild About Us!!!

French Dip

I have been needing to update my blog. I keep thinking that I will update with the photos that I took of Wyatt and his injuries, but I think I just may wait on that! Instead I thought I would share my new recipe.

For dinner tonight, I made french dip sandwiches. I am not a big french dipper, but I must say that this was pretty darn good!!! I had stolen it off of a friend's notes on Facebook and then altered it a tad bit. Wyatt really seemed to like it! You will have to try it also and let me know what you think!!!

1 roast of your choice (I used chuck roast)
1 package of Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix
2 Beef Boulion Cubes
1 can of beer
2 cups water (I sort of dumped, but use your judgement)

mix together and cook on low in the crockpot for the day. When done, slice and put back into juice. Serve on Hoagie buns. Be sure to dip into the Au Ju or use BBQ sauce. Either way works well! The biggest hint is that the longer it cooks on low the more tender it becomes. Once I sliced it, I let it set a little in the juice and that worked well!

ENJOY!