First Day

Caleb's first day of Kindergarten!

At the bus stop

Getting on the bus

He admitted that he was mostly nervous about going to school.  I was so nervous for him!  I couldn't answer a lot of his questions because I didn't know what to expect either!  I wish we lived close enough to the school that I could walk him to and from school every day.  He seems to enjoy the idea of riding the bus, but I was anxious about him getting on the right bus at the end of the day!

Dropping Caleb off at the bus stop, I was prepared to lose it emotionally after Caleb stepped on the bus.  In actuality, Carter was the one to bawl, and I had to spend the next several minutes consoling him!  Carter was so disappointed that he couldn't go with Caleb.

Apparently upon arriving at the school, all the kids go to the cafeteria for breakfast?  (In this school, the cafeteria and the gym are one and the same.)  I'm still not sure, but I guess he sat down and other kids were eating around him, so he thought it was time to eat his lunch.  He ate about half of his lunch, even though he had just had pancakes about an hour earlier!  Then at lunch time, he didn't have very much to eat.  He came home from school starving!  Apparently he was so hungry that he raised his hand to tell his teacher at some point that he needed a snack, but she asked him to put his hand down.  He told me when he got home that I needed to start packing a breakfast and lunch for him each day!

I spent the day trying to keep busy so that I would keep my mind off of worrying about Caleb.  (I wonder what he's doing now?  Is he making any friends?  Is he going to like school? etc., etc.)  I got a lot of cleaning accomplished, made some banana bread for his breakfast the next day, and made Rice Krispies treats to greet Caleb when he got home.  I was so relieved to hug him when he stepped off the bus!  He came home and wolfed down 2 Rice Krispies treats, 2 slices of banana bread, and a bowl of applesauce.  I initially told him no more food after his first Rice Krispies treat because I didn't want him to spoil his dinner, but changed my mind after learning that he didn't eat much for lunch!

It's been challenging being alone with Carter these last two days.  He is a grumpy kid, and honestly isn't the most pleasant kid to be around.  (He's still my grumpy boy though, and I love him!!)  Caleb handles him so well and is so patient with him, for the most part.  It has been a luxury to have Caleb play with him and help me take care of him (i.e. getting him a snack etc.).  Carter doesn't play independently and wants me next to him at every moment in the day.  Yesterday he followed me around while I cleaned and baked and was a great "helper," but the helping usually creates a lot more work.  We'll adjust to this new rhythm just in time to welcome a new baby in 9 weeks!

Overall, I think Caleb's school experience is going well.  He still wants to go back, so that's a positive thing!

Caleb Turns 5

Caleb has been looking forward to his birthday for quite some time and had some high expectations.  I tried to make it the best day for this big 5-year-old boy!

Caleb requested chocolate muffins for breakfast.  I've never made them, nor do I think he's ever had a chocolate muffin before so I'm not sure where he got the idea from.  They turned out yummy though!

We signed up for free bowling this summer (you still have to pay for shoes), so we went bowling on his birthday, at his request.

Opening presents when Daddy got home from work.  He got 5 presents from us in honor of his 5th birthday.

This was a gift from our dear friends in Seattle.  While we were visiting, Caleb and I learned how to play this game together. Then he wanted to play it non-stop at any free moment.  It's called Peanut Butter and Jelly.  He was SO excited to get the game for himself!

His bigger present this year was a soccer net for the backyard. 

Caleb had "Meet the Teacher" the same night, so after presents, we headed to school to see his classroom and meet his new Kindergarten teacher.

We ate dinner when we came home.  When I had asked Caleb previously what he wanted for his special birthday dinner, he said, "I want cauliflower or broccoli...whichever you want to make."  Ha ha!  So we had fettucini and broccoli for his birthday dinner.

Then Daddy set up the soccer net, and we all went outside for some soccer fun.

Caleb looks forward to his yearly gift of quarters from MeMaw and Papa, so he was excited that Papa came over that night.  Usually he just saves them in his piggy bank, but this year he wanted to go buy some cars that he's wanted for a long time.

Caleb's one request this year was Chuck E Cheese's.  (He went to a birthday party there almost a year ago and has wanted to go back since.)  We decided to rotate having a friends' party and just doing a family party.  So this year we just went as a family to Chuck E Cheese's.  He wanted his cousin Dallin to come as well.

Carter and Dallin with Chuck E Cheese.  (Caleb's off winning tickets with his Dad!)

Caleb did really well at this game.  He seemed to score more tickets than I did anytime that I tried it.

Caleb wanted a soccer ball cake this year.

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa: Parcheesi (his FAVORITE game to play at Grandma's house), Cars Uno, and a new school shirt.

Present from Dallin: a Spiderman toy

Caleb got a lot of games for his birthday this year...he's finally at the age to understand better how to play.  So we've been playing a lot of PB&J, Trouble, Parcheesi, and Uno these last several days!

Seattle: Days 3, 4 & 5

Our friend, Jeff, had to work on Friday; unfortunately a big project at work got postponed and due the same weekend we were visiting.  The rest of us headed to Lake Wilderness for some swimming and playing in the sand.

We LOVED the soft, plush grass in Seattle; so much so that we all went out barefoot to play sports that night!

Playing soccer

Carter played some Frisbee :o)

In lieu of starting my Saturday morning with a 5 mile run, we ate some "legendary" doughnuts instead! 

Several of the doughnuts are named after famous characters or people.  In the box below, we had a Charlie Brown doughnut and an Oprah doughnut.  There was quite the selection to choose from!

The rest of the day was spent on Mount Rainier.  It is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States from base to summit.  It was neat to see all the glaciers on the mountain.  Even though there hasn't been activity for a long time, I would be scared to live near a volcano!

Information center with Mt. Rainier in the background

We drove to Sunrise and did two hikes less than 3 miles, one before lunch and one after.  The trails were really dusty, but the sights were phenomenal, especially with the beautiful wild flowers in bloom.

Pregnant Mommas

Family pictures at the top of our first hike

Tahlia, Lily, Jeff, and Claire

They're pregnant with their first boy!

Caleb wanted to take a picture

After lunch, we headed on our second hike down to Sunrise Lake.

 Carter with his hiking stick 

 It was a very steep hike, especially the last quarter of the hike right down to the lake.  It made for a difficult climb on the way back up to the top!

At the lake

Beautiful scenery

Carter got pretty tired on both hikes and wanted to be carried for a lot of it.  He preferred me to carry him, but on this second hike, it was way too steep.  I was just trying to make it to the top myself!  Poor Matt had the difficult job of monitoring Carter's progress (carrying him on his shoulders for awhile and then making him walk for awhile).  Caleb and I went ahead of everyone else.  We didn't see a single mosquito in our stay in Seattle except for on this hike.  Anytime we stopped to rest, Caleb got swarmed by mosquitoes (he's got yummy blood).  So we kept pushing on and beat everyone else to the top.  We all got our exercise for the day from those two hikes!

Later that night we had Little Caesar's pizza and then roasted some marshmallows and made s'mores.  Isn't that awesome to be able to sit around a small fire in the summer?!?

The flight home was shorter by almost an hour than the flight to Seattle, so that made things a little easier for the kids.  We could only get 3 seats together on the way home, so Matt sat with the kids, and I got a middle seat to myself at the back of the plane.  Carter took a good nap, so that made things a little easier for Matt.  I took turns fighting for use of the arm rests with the two bigger gentleman that I sat between. :o)

Caleb is fascinated at airports with the planes taking off and landing.  Here he is watching while we waited to be called to load the plane.

What fun it was to spend time with good friends and to spend time as a family!  For some reason it was more difficult adjusting to the time difference once we got home.  Matt and I find ourselves staying up later because we're not tired, and the boys have been sleeping in every morning.  Carter slept till 9 am for two mornings in a row!  Matt and I are still getting up early though--him to go to work, and me to run before he goes to work.  We're all adjusting back slowly.

Seattle: Days 1 & 2

For our family vacation this year, we saved up and did something bigger than we've ever done as a family before.  We took flights to Seattle to visit some close friends who now live there.  Matt and I met Jeff and Tahlia as a newly married couple 6 years ago; they lived in our same apartment complex and were fairly newly married as well.  We got together for a Family Home Evening and discovered we got along really well.  Tahlia and I had so much in common as far as similar interests.  Even as we talked on this vacation, we found that we were living very similar lives, just across the continent.  She and I are both pregnant with our third baby due a month apart from each other.  Matt and Jeff got along very well as well.  For the next two years, we always joked about their "bro-mance" because of their similar humor and personalities.

We each bought our first houses around the same time and lived 10 minutes away from each other.  Tahlia and I had our first baby 9 months apart from each other and would walk/jog as we pushed our babies in a jogging stroller most every morning along with my sister, Ariane.  We went on a cruise with them for our 3 year anniversary and had a blast!  We hung out together most every weekend for games or movies over the years.  Matt and I were so sad the day they moved away.  It's very difficult to find such good friends...and even though we haven't seen them for 3 years, we were able to pick up right where we had left off.  Everything seemed the same except for the addition each of a new child.  They were so great to plan wonderful excursions to show us the city and entertain the kids.

The plane trip there went pretty well; we left last Wednesday afternoon.  Carter was his usual grumpy self, so he caused a few scenes.  Luckily we all had seats together on this flight which allowed both Matt and I to be "hands-on" when Carter was having a tough time.  Caleb did so great and was such a trooper during a long day either in the airport or on a plane.

We arrived at 8pm Seattle time.  (That was a challenge adjusting to the time change.)  We were greeted with cool weather, and it felt wonderful!  After putting the kids to bed, we stayed up chatting over some pizza since Matt and I were starving.

The next morning we had some yummy french toast with buttermilk syrup for breakfast.

Carter enjoying his meal.

Jeff had to work Thursday morning, so the rest of us went to the park for awhile before we could meet up with Jeff downtown for the afternoon.

Carter enjoying playing at the park!  We haven't played at the park all summer since our summers are spent indoors to avoid the heat.

Claire, Caleb, and Lily

First sight to see downtown was Pike Place Market.

Carter and Daddy looking at a jellyfish in the water while kiddos and pregnant Mommas were going potty.

Pretty view of Lake Puget Sound behind the market

The fish market was only a small part of all the shops in the market.  It was fun to see them throw fish.

Family picture in front of the fish market

Caleb and Lily held hands a lot as we walked all over downtown.  It was so cute :o).  We made jokes the whole weekend about their future nuptials.

We made a stop at Beecher's Homemade Cheese in order to sample the "World's Best Mac & Cheese." The boys enjoyed watching the machines used to make the cheese.

After lunch, we enjoyed some gelato at Bottega Italiana.

Caleb in front of Seattle's Aquarium

We spent the rest of the afternoon at a Science Museum since Tahlia had some free passes.

Caleb exploring some water animals.

Caleb, Carter and Daddy in front of a dinosaur exhibit.

All the kids:

Carter, Caleb, Lily, and Claire

Sitting in a dinosaur footprint!

Next we walked through the butterfly exhibit trying to get butterflies to land on us.

Family picture in front of the space needle.  It was too tall to capture the whole thing.

Caleb and Lily with the space needle.

Next we headed to International Fountain.  It was a super big fountain.

They also had this large whale that the kids enjoyed climbing on.

We ate a picnic dinner at Alki Beach.

The kids in front of the water.

We ended the night with more chatting and a yummy pumpkin dessert that Tahlia made in honor of my pumpkin obsession.  It was so sweet of her and very tasty!