We found the shoes!!!

I know, it's sad, but I was lying awake last night trying to figure out at who's house those silly shoes might be hiding! Today, after school I told Bren she needed to find them. She went to all the homes of her friends on the street and couldn't find them. When she came back home, she went up to her room and found them there!! Mission accomplished!
I went to the school today to make copies for Mrs. Swalley. I really like her, and Bren loves her, so I'm elated!
The boys are both off to Fall Retreats this weekend. Not sure what the weather is supposed to be like, so we don't have any big plans. Mom and dad are in Hawaii, so no camping this Labor Day. I know you're surprised, but I'm actually sad about that. I like camping with my mom and dad!
I think Bren wants to watch America's Got Talent, so I'm signing off for now.

Love,
Mom

Shoes...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

My daughter is..well, she's definitely my daughter! Not that I had any doubts...I was there when she was born! But, she and I have a similar problem. We can't keep up with our shoes! There are people who can't even comprehend how you can lose your shoes. I'm willing to bet that those people also enjoy wearing shoes. Bren and I would rather be barefoot. So, the minute we get somewhere where taking off our shoes is an option, we take those babies off! And then, we leave them behind. Our feet are just more comfortable being free!! The only difference is, I'm not taking my shoes off at my friend's house. She goes out to play and always returns home without her shoes. It's an expensive problem. Is there therapy for such a problem...it might be cheaper!

Yesterday, I didn't blog because I spent a couple hours showing Debbie our Disney pictures! Thanks for looking Debbie! Can I just say how much fun we had on that trip? We always love traveling with my mom and dad though. How many women my age can say that! (I hope my kids feel that way someday too!) Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.

Jeremiah, Blake, Bren, Stitch, Braden, and Matt

Miah getting a kiss from Cinderella

Braden, Blake and Bren with Donald

The whole "Goofy" family

Jeremiah and Matt, our nephews, were thrilled to see all the characters. Don't let the big kid's age fool ya though....Braden, Blake and Bren were pretty happy to see them too!

Love,

Mom

Cheetah Girls - One World

Tonight's the big movie premier, so guess what we're doing this evening! We'll grab pizza to celebrate the 1st week of school. Bren and I are going to make some brownies. Abby is coming over to spend the night. Braden's heading to the "Red/White" game, and Blake is working at the pool. Fun-filled evening for all!
Braden played 5 holes of golf yesterday in the pouring rain! He was soaked, but had a blast.
Blake's drum line played at the open house, but before it actually started, so I missed it!!!! I was so bummed! Sorry Blakester!
Happy Weekend to all!
Love,
Mom

Rain, Rain Go Away!

It's raining. Bren is outside in her poncho trying to brave the downpour to reach her friend. I've told her to stay on the porch. She doesn't think it's fair for the rain to come just as it's time for school to be out. "Why could it not have rained all day while I sat in school," she asked. I have to agree.
Braden is supposed to play in his 1st golf match of the season. I haven't heard from him, but if it's cancelled, he'll really be bummed.
Blake is playing drums for the open house at school tonight. He's really excited about marching band now. He was describing to me in detail the beats of "Go Warriors" or something like that last night.
Oh, and Blake is phoneless again. Someone borrowed his phone and then dropped it and it broke in half. Blake is completely frustrated with cell phones, cell phone contracts, and upgrade charges.
Sorry, buddy...I am too!

Love,
Mom

How time flies when you're scrubbing toilets!

Today is the 3rd day of school, and the 1st day that I haven't committed myself to some type of volunteer work at any of the three schools my children attend. No, as much as I wish it weren't so...today needed to be a cleaning day!

I've spent the entire day cleaning, and just in case you're jealous that I'm sitting in a completely clean house...think not! Days like today, I find myself wishing for a 200 sq. ft. cabin! Just kidding - I am blessed, and I am thankful, but I do wish the cleaning fairy chose to visit every once in a while to help me out!

I've quit cleaning to write this blog, and to upload some Disney pictures to Walmart. I also added Disney photos to the digital frame. Looking at the pictures is so much fun. We had a great time! What incredible memories with Mimi and Papa for their 40th Anniversary!



Blake has a dentist appointment today. Darryl has a meeting, so the kids and I will probably grab a pizza for dinner. The boys have Cell groups tonight...but Blake's is outside and it looks like it will pour rain any minute.

Just so you know...by 2:00 p.m., I'm ready for all my little ducks to be back in the nest! Can't wait for you all to get home!

Love,
Mom

The summer Olympics...and school

The summer olympics really needed to be over by the time school started. These late night bedtimes are killing us! Bren is getting to bed on time, but she's really upset that she's missing Shawn Johnson and the gymnastics competitions!

The 1st day of school went well for everyone. Braden's only complaint about his last 1st day of school was that "No One" has lunch with him. After prodding, he named off plenty of people who share his lunch period, including good friend Hannah....so "No one" was indeed an exaggeration! Phew! He came home with school supply lists including books for his college English class. So, we called Darryl and asked him to stop by NWACC to purchase the required books. $80 later...we've purchased our 1st of many college books for our 1st born. Yeah us! Oh, and I didn't even cry! Score one for mom! He was very excited about AP Psychology, and they get to play with Play doh. Braden and friends wore matching shirts to school today with the phrase "I'm not who I was" on the front, and "Ask me Why" on the back. I think 42 students purchased the shirts to wear on the 1st day of school, and most showed up with them on. Braden said that the shirts caught quite a bit of attention, some very positive, and some not quite so. Religious persecution alive and well.

Blake made it home on the bus. Relief blanketed me as I heard him walk through the door. (Not that his riding the bus makes me nervous...but we weren't sure what bus number he needed to locate, and I didn't call before school like I have in the past.) His first day went well too. He's not quite sure about Spanish II. He's still not released to run Cross Country, but hopefully next week. The thing he most wanted to talk about....Mr. Watson grew a beard over the summer.

Bren's 1st day was fantastic. She loves Mrs. Swalley! She ate lunch with Jane Ellen and Kennadie and a new girl, Sarah (I think) who she says is very nice too. I spent a lot of the day at her school, making copies and filling folders to go home. The day flew by! She was thrilled to see Abby after school and talk about their day. Abby's teacher made homemade Chocolate Chip cookies...Mrs. Swalley might have some baking to do!

Love,

Mom

1st day of school

I'm not sure blogging is my thing. I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and I'm quite positive others have more things to say, and better ways to say it, but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

I'm blogging to put in writing this time of my life...of their lives, so we can save the memories...in hard copy! So here goes!

Today is the 1st day of school. We've done it before. In fact, we've done it 12 times before today. I'm not superstitious, but why does the 13th time we do the 1st day of school also happen to be Braden's 1st day of his last year of high school? Doesn't seem possible! I'm remember the 1st day of kindergarten like it was yesterday. Mrs. Gibbs - what a blessing! And then time flew...1st Day of School #13!

Of course, thankfully, even if I'm not sneaking to college to take a 1st day of school picture of Braden, Bren and Blake will still be celebrating more 1st days of school for a while. Bren was thrilled to find that she'll be in Mrs. Swalley's 4th grade class this year. She was bummed that Abby won't be in her class this year, though I think Debbie and I shed more tears than the girls did. Bren is thankful that Lily, Kennadie, and Jane Ellen are in her class though. I think she's going to have a great year!

Blake went off to 9th grade today, excited to be participating in Marching band this year. We can't wait to see him march at football games. He's also stated that he's going to try really hard this year, completing his homework before playing any video games after school. I'm putting that in writing to show him tomorrow when he has already given up on that promise!!

Happy 1st day of school kiddos!! We're going to have a terrific year!

Love,
Mom