First Day of School 2017

 Colt and Jax started school on August 29 at Berney Elementary (Case started a little later because of the kindergarten schedule)

 Colt - 4th grade

Wants to be a

Jax - 2nd grade

Wants to be a Nurse Practitioner when he grows up.

 They had a good first day. It's a new school for them and Colt was pretty nervous. Jax said his teacher is the best ever and loved it. Colt said his teacher was really nice but he does not like it as well as Davis (his old school). I am sure it will get better, its a much older building so the school does not look as nice.  He did know quite a few kids from church and playing sports so I am hoping once the year gets going he will start to feel more comfortable and have fun.

 Case had a slower start to school since he is in kindergarten this year. His teacher is named Ms. Thomas.  He did not come across as too excited about going to school but he said he had lots of fun when I picked him up.  

 Colbi started in the 4 year old class at Mustard Seed with Mrs. Meeks. She will go there Monday, Wednesday and Friday this year in the mornings.  She went to Mustard Seed last year so she knew was to expect and she was fine when I dropped her off. No tears this year.

On Tuesday and Thursday's this year Colbi will go to Betty's preschool (Colt and Jax also both went here). Since I am working part time in the mornings it just worked well to have her in preschool 5 days a week this year. I think it will be a nice change for her that it's not the same preschool every day.  She may have been more excited to go to Betty's because her older brothers have been talking about it to her all summer and how much fun it is there. It is hard to believe I am at the stage where all of my kids are in school in some capacity. I am teaching at WWCC again this year but we don't start until the end of the month so it will be nice to be able to go into work and get some school prep done without having to bring the kids with me.

Happy 4th Birthday Colbi Lyn

 Happy Birthday Colbi!

My baby turned 4 and all of a sudden our life feels a lot different. She is growing up and we have officially turned a corner. The house is no longer filled with babies and toddlers and to be honest its hard. I try not to dwell on what I miss because what ahead is so fun and amazing. Colbi is a firecracker, she is talkative, energetic, athletic and has a bit of sass in her.  She loves to snuggle and while she is very independent she does not want to be left out of anything. She asks to sleep with her brothers every night and I can't think of a night where she has slept by herself in the last 2 years. I am sure that will change when they get older but for now it is so fun to see her want to be around them so much. 

 Dave had to work on her actual birthday so he told her he would take her out and do whatever she wanted the day before. She requested that Case come and she wanted Tiki Teriyaki for lunch.

 Then after lunch a trip to Inland Octopus to pick out a toy (she chose walkie talkies after apparently quite a conversation with Case).

 Later that day she got her big 4th birthday gift a bike!

I have been trying to get her to ride Case's bike all summer but she wanted nothing to do with it. She's been riding her strider bike and was happy with that. Well as soon as she got her bike she asked me to ride bikes with her and she took off pedaling by herself. Case was so cute cheering her on as he pedaled next to her and I chased after them in my flip flops. I kept having to tell her to slow down because I could hardly keep up. 

 The morning of her birthday she slept forever.  Apparently sleep wins over birthday fun!

 Once she finally woke up we had bread dough pudding and she got to open a few small presents.

 Then we hit the road to Boise for the weekend where Aunt Amy and Aunt Marni had a fun little party planned for her.

We got to Boise and stayed with Uncle Andy and Aunt Amy. The kids had a blast swimming in their pool, eating good food and playing together. Marni had the awesome trolls cake made for her birthday which the kids thought was pretty incredible.

After dinner they got to hit a pinata and collect the candy.

Then it was back to the pool where they pretty much spent the entire weekend. I think it was a pretty fun birthday for Colbi.

I am looking forward to seeing her grow this next year. She is so challenging in ways that the boys never were but also so much fun and makes me laugh alot! She will be going to preschool 5 days a week this year while I am at work. She is looking forward to school and also spending the afternoons with just me (she has given me multiple talks about things we can do while the boys are at school - go out to lunch, go to the park, ride bikes, get ice cream, etc.). She loves her baby dolls and playing with her kitchen and serving me fake coffee and food. She loves to read books with me and snuggle with Dave while watching movies. She is a hugger, kisser and a snuggler. We love her so much!

  4 year stats

Weight: 38 lbs (70%)

Height: 42.5  inches (95%)

Birthday Questions
How old are you? five I mean 4
What do you want for your birthday breakfast? bread dough pudding
What is your favorite color? blue
What is your favorite toy? pigey (her stuffed pigeon) and my Seahawks helmet.
What is your favorite fruit? grapes and oranges
What is your favorite vegetable? carrots and green veggies
What is your favorite movie? Trolls and Zootopia
What is your favorite animal? elephant
What is your favorite book? Clifford
Who is your best friend? Maggie (her cousin)
What is your favorite sport? Seahawks
What is your favorite thing to do outside? jump on the trampoline
What do you sleep with at night? Pigey and Case
What is your favorite thing to eat? hot dogs
What do you want to be when you grow up? fireman
What is your favorite thing to do with dad? go out to Brights and get toys

 What is your favorite thing to do with mom?  Go outside and play baseball

Last days of summer

As summer comes to an end we are trying our best to make the most of what time we have left before the craziness of fall comes in. We went out to the property and shot clay pigeons with my dad. Colt is a great shot!

Jax and Joel found a cute frog.

Looking for crawdad's in the river behind our home.

Things are starting to happen! It is so fun to see the progress and see new things being done everyday.

This spot under the bridge is the perfect spot to cool off and catch some crawdads on a hot hot day.

The boys in their future room. They have a great view!

Leavenworth Camping Trip

 Kicking the trip off right.

We spent 4 days camping in Leavenworth with the Stacy's. It was fun to get out of town and relax a little. We hiked, fished, swam in the pool at the campsite, floated the river and enjoyed being together.

 All 6 of the kids!

Colt (10), Jax (8), Kendall (7), Case (6), Zak (4.5) Colbi (3.5).

 Dave showing the kids how to fish in the river.

 On the shuttle bus to float the river.

 Everyone carried their tubes except for Zak and Colbi. I think one more year and we will have almost total independence from carrying stuff for our kids.

 The river float was a favorite for everyone. We stopped on a sandy beach and spent a few hours playing in the river and diving for rocks.

 Colt helping Kendall swim down the current.

 My kiddos.

 Case and Zak.

Summer is winding down and I am not ready to send these kids back to school (even if the fighting is driving me to drink nightly!).