First Day

School started last Thursday and everyone was back on schedule without much trouble. I was actually amazed by how smoothly everything went. Levi is on the bus at 6:25, the Buddies are on at 7:35, and Wyatt brings up the rear at 8:30.
It is actually pretty nice because I get to spend some time with them all before they leave. Above are the second grade supplies minus the 4 extra composition books the teacher asked for after the first day. This year we also had to pay a supply fee to help off set the budget cut backs our schools have been suffering from. So far they are all loving their teachers and classes. I have my fingers crossed that it stays this way all year!

Middle School Awards Day's

This year Levi won an award for having the highest Math average in his group, the Hurricanes. The eighth grade is divided into three groups: Hurricanes, Beach Bums, and Pirates. You only change classes with your group of 80 or so kids. He also received a Presidents award for having a 90 or above average in all of his classes for all three years of middle school. The 8th grade doesn't give out behavior awards, but he was on Gold Level all year long. Uncle Shaun got to come, as well as my dad. Shaun kept asking me if the other kids were 7th graders. No, all the kids in here are 8th graders. He couldn't understand how big the middle school has gotten since he was there, lol.
Wyatt really rocked it out this year. He won an award for being on gold level all year long, an award for meeting and exceeding his Reading Counts goal all year in ELA, and an award for AB honor roll all year long. They are also divided into three groups called Panthers, Cheetahs, and Jaguars. Wyatt was a Cheetah this year. Our sixth graders had the highest and second highest Math and ELA scores in the county this year in their EOG's. The principal couldn't brag on them enough. Wyatt made it into the end of year slide show many times. I quite enjoyed his silly poses and faces. (if anyone can get me a copy of that I would be forever grateful)

Last Day of First Grade

Wow, the school year has really flown by. This year the buddies had an awards day. S got an award for the best boy writer in the class. G got an award for the most artistic boy in the class.
They had an ice cream party after the awards were given out, and then signed yearbooks and watched Finding Nemo.
Many thanks to Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Ashworth for being such great teachers and making everything fun!

Happy Birthday Levi!!!!

Okay, so I am a wee bit behind in blogging. Levi turned 14 on May 3. I really can't believe he is that old. I can still vividly remember calling the hubs and telling him it was time to go to the hospital.
His response was....are ya sure? Yep, my water broke, and the doctor said to go on and he would meet us there, was my response. As you can see, 14 years later, we spent the afternoon and evening at MPHS on the track.
He did very well. As we were leaving, he noticed the huge board on the stadium with all of the track records for the high schoolers. Talk about incentive. He didn't even have to say it outloud, I knew he was thinking how awesome it would be if he was on that board one day.
I am really not sure when the short, chunky boy turned into the tall, lanky boy that he is today. It was a gradual process that seems lightning fast presently. Happy birthday to Levi, my firstborn. I love you!

Boys!

W-My foot hurts.

Me-Why?

W-I don't know but every time I put on my shoes it hurts.

Me-Have you outgrown your shoes?

W-No.

Me-How do your shoes feel inside?

W-Well......my toes hit the ends of them.

Me-Then your shoes are too small.

W-How do you know?

Me-When your toes are touching the ends they are too small for your feet. That's probably why they hurt.

W-Why didn't you say so?

Giving Up

I finally gave in and learned how to use the bowflex. I have to admit I really like it. My first goal is just to tone my body and lose seven pounds. My wake up call was when I stepped on the scale three weeks ago, and I only weighed eight pounds less than I did the day I delivered Levi. Last week I lost two, and so far this week I have lost one. I stopped drinking soft drinks of any kind (my personal weakness) and started making better choices for meals and snacks. So far so good. I also want to start walking two mornings a week. If anyone is interested in joining me, let me know.

Conversation at the store

This was with a guy while I was waiting to pay for my gas at the store the other day.....

Guy- How much gas do you put in that thing? (pointing at suburban)

Me- As much as it needs.

Guy- You need a little Honda.

Me- You know I have four kids....right?

Guy- You need a little truck.

Me- FOUR boys. Not gonna fit dude.

Guy- A smaller vehicle.

Me- You gonna buy it for me? That thing is paid for. (pointing at the suburban)

Guy- You know what you need?

Me- A nanny?

At this point the cashier lost it, and she and I burst out laughing. Noisy guy just stood there bewildered.

Christmas Eve

The Fisher great grandkids (plus Kyle, Michael and Kristin)

Learning to ride

Getting ready
First crash (going uphill too slowly, lol)
And he's off
Trading places
Off again

Watching these two ride is very scary! G is a daredevil and S goes along like a little old man. The last time they rode the hubs said.....great day for an ER visit.....no kidding. So far, so good.

Insight

Levi told me this on the way home from the last soccer games of the season.....

L-I saw a parent tell a lie today.

Me-What?

L-I saw a parent tell their child a lie.

Me-What do you mean?

L-The kid was running up the bleachers with his trophy. When he got to the top he tripped and the trophy fell onto the pavement. It broke in several pieces. The kid started to cry and the mom said, "Don't worry honey, we can fix this." "No you can't!", yelled the kid. The mom hugged him and said a little glue would do the trick and the kid sucked it up and they left.

L-Mom....no amount of glue was going to fix that trophy.....

Me-Probably not.

L-Man.....being a parent is really hard work.

Me-Hardest job on the Earth.

Birthday Party

This year I let the Buddies have a birthday party at a friends corn maze near by. I highly recommend this, as there was much to do and nothing to clean up. Here we have Anna and her "boyfriend" Wyatt. :)
They had a huge play-set, corn hole, a corn maze, a sunflower maze, a corn pit, snacks, and a sling shot game.
This was one of the kids favorite spots to play.
Blowing out the candles. Look at our awesome cake find at Sam's.
The kiddos in front of the Get Lost sign. Much thanks to Kent and Amy for letting us celebrate at the maze, the kids had a blast!!!!

Trading Up

After weeks of decisions and waiting and researching, this arrived at the shop. I hadn't seen it in person, so when it drove into the driveway I actually exclaimed "O.M.G".
I wasn't mentally prepared for the size and shiny roundness of it! These are the corn and bean headers on a cart. They are way to big to take down the road on the combine. Lord have mercy on me driving these babies around from field to field. (stop laughing Leigh)
Old faithful. It looks pitiful doesn't it? All dirty and square and boxy. Peace out 9500, you have served us well. Man time flies. We bought it when Levi was a baby. I still remember who was in the field the first time Landon cut with it. Many a child has napped in that cab. S was upset when he was told about the new one.....until he SAW the new one, lol. Now everyone is fighting for a ride after school. And no, this is NOT my anniversary present. :)

Happy 7th Birthday Buddies!!!!

We started off the morning with some birthday waffles. This is a tradition I started with Levi, where I stick candles in whatever they are eating that morning. It is a really fun way to kick off the day.
At lunch time I took cupcakes to the buddies class. They had birthday hats, but are too big to wear them in the cafeteria this year, lol. Their teachers also gave them each a snow globe.
Before bedtime we opened some presents. As always we have some Legos, some DS games, and some John Deere. What every boy needs, oh and some clothes, but who can be bothered with that? ;)
Happy birthday Buddies!!! You are growing up way too fast!

4 More Days

My little sister is getting married in four days. The buddies are going to be ring bearers. Right after I took this picture G (sitting quietly on the bench) put on his vest over his white shirt. He was so cute! Very 1984. We have hemmed the pants, packed all our accessories and are ready.

Goings On

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Many of you already know that the day after we arrived home from Oak Island, my vertigo reared it's ugly head. This time around it was pretty rough. It hung on for 10 days. 10 days of nausea, headaches, no sleep, throwing up, not driving...you get the idea. I finally got well enough to get Landon to take me to the chiropractor and see if they could help. The moment we left, after the adjustment and acupuncture, my headache was gone. It has been gone ever since. I am on a schedule with them for now, to see what happens this time around treating it differently. Not just treating the symptoms like the doctor would. As I am typing this, I have a needle in my shoulder that will stay there until next Monday. I am intrigued to say the least, and quite impressed with acupuncture. The hubs and I got to spend allot of time together, since he was driving me everywhere for so long. He even got to go to David's Bridal and get my dress for my sister's wedding. When we walked in the store it was empty, except for the sales ladies. They practically pounced on us, especially Landon.

Ladies: Hey! How are you today honey? (said with major Southern drawl and charm)

Landon: Not too good. (said with a kill me now voice)

Ladies: Aaaaawwwwwwww, why? (completely sucked in)

Landon: I am in a dress shop at 8:00 at night.

I was glad they got it, and everyone started laughing. Also glad the dress fit. Because the dresses in that store are made for 20 year olds and not for people whom have had three c-sections. Stay tuned.

Conversation in the Changing Room

This was my conversation in the changing room of Marshall's last night with the buddies....

Mama....did you used to be skinny?

What?

Did you used to be skinny. Like Aunt Bethany.

Yep.

Like Bethany?

Okay, not as small as Aunt Bethany, but I was tiny.

When was that?

Before I had kids.

WWWWHHHEENNNNN?

Before I had Levi, Wyatt and you guys.

Oh, because the doctor cut your tummy?

Yep, three times.

And you had a fat belly?

Yep.

Because there were TWO babies in there?

Yes.

And it was US?

(sheesh, where is this going) Yes.

And then your tummy was cut open and the doctor pulled us out.

Ummhummmmm. Can we play the quiet game?

And then we were here and you were so happy?

Yeah, then you learned how to talk.

(At this point there was hysterical laughter heard from the other side of the wall. Seems the lady thought this was quite funny. If anyone wants to borrow them to find summer clothes....call me.)

Sending Him Off

Yesterday morning I drove the boy to church and dropped him off. The youth went to Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, in the mountains, for a week of missions work, bible study and white water fun. I was surprised at how much I wanted to cry when I was driving away. I also wanted to give him a great big bear hug before I left, but I just settled for a half-hug from the side. Bonnie, the youth leader, could tell that I was barely holding it together and gave me a hug. She told me that he would be fine. I knew he would be fine, the problem was would "I" be fine? The whole time our children are little we seem to want them to reach this milestone, or that milestone. The next thing you know they are 13 and never home. I had a flash of the future....the boys going on this adventure or that adventure and Landon and I waving bye as they drive away. It makes me want to treasure each and every moment that we have with them right now. Levi only has five more years of mandatory schooling and then he could be gone to college or out on his own. It all seems so short now. I remember that in the toddler phase every week was like a year.......and now every month is like a day. Literally, a blink of an eye.

Friday (with kids)

6:00 pm take fifth grader to his first dance

6:15 pm stop by Whataburger to pick up supper

6:30 pm hubs needs ride from Pharr Farmplace

7:00 pm finally get to eat, then put up chickens

8:00 pm hubs needs ride from another farmplace

8:30 pm take other boy to the Lighthouse @ church

9:00 pm pick up first boy from school dance

11:30 pm get other boy from Lighthouse

Scratch the last entry, my favorite neighbor just offered to bring boy home, with her boy, from Lighthouse. Wow, remember when a Friday night consisted of eating in a restaurant and maybe catching a movie? Those were the days. ;)

Pulling Teeth

Video of S getting his tooth pulled. Watch G at the end.

Happy Birthday To You

My first-born is a teenager now. Where did the time go? It seems like yesterday that I was calling the hubs to come home because my water broke.
His reply was "Are you sure?" Yes, the boy was born during planting season. He didn't want to leave the field for a false alarm. Who knew the child was going to weigh 8 pounds and 4 ounces? I was tiny. Where was all of that baby?
By six months old he was a 24 pound chunk of happiness with long reddish, curly hair. Mrs. Gail gave what would become the first of many, monthly haircuts. That spring was the first big boy cut from daddy. Yep, it was shaved. He screamed the whole time. It has been blond ever since.
He stayed chunky through toddlerhood. Then something started happening.

He started getting taller, and taller, and taller. He is now the same height as I am. Although at the rapid rate he is growing, I know that he will pass me soon.
I wasn't prepared for how rapidly he would grow up. His voice would deepen. He would take on responsibility. He would want to work. Or how well he could do the running man forwards, backwards, and sideways. It seems he got some moves from my brother. How much he could make us all laugh at silly jokes. Happy 13th birthday Levi!!! We love you deeply!