the reading treasure box

jack had his first big project of kindergarten.

it's called a reading treasure box.

it's kind of special since it will hold his first masterpieces of literature. 

throughout the school year, he will make and collect his own reading books.

i remember way back when i was maybe 5 or 6 years old

and i would make the same types of books and somehow i still have a few of them.

hopefully, he will be able to keep these books forever and get to show them to his kids.

the actual box turned out to be a little too foo foo.

at least that is what jason said.

dancing queen

today was ava's first day of dance.

ava practicing her twirl.

a lizard tale

i was running on the treadmill in the basement this morning... 

thinking to myself that running marathons really is crazy and i should just quit,

but then that would be totally worthless since i have already put in hundreds of miles,

including a 20 miler this past weekend.

and the weather was awful. humid, sticky, rainy, and windy. yuck.

so i would just be throwing that all away.

plus, i only have 6 weeks left til st. george, so i might as well stick it out.

while my feet are pounding away and my breathing is getting heavy, ava runs in 

from her bedroom to announce that there is a dead lizard in her room.

um. hmmm.

okay, go tell dad.

so she runs up the stairs to get him.

they come back down and it turns out that it is a real lizard. a real big lizard.

but not in her actual room.

just in the window well of her room.

meet the lizard living in ava's window well.

ava the explorer.

she couldn't stop checking him out.

her uniform: pink pj top, hello kitty undies, and zebra binoculars. 

then the curtains came crashing down.

jason was supposed to fix those last saturday.

i guess he never got around to it.

my little bff

this is ava.

a.k.a my little bff.

she is hilarious.

now that jack is gone all day, i get the privilege of hanging out with the coolest 

almost 3 year old ever.

why ava is so cool:

1. while she takes a shower she sings to bon jovi's living on prayer.

2. she helps me do my chores. (laundry, putting dishes away)

3. begs for her picture to be taken and then pretends not to look at the camera.

4. her favorite movie is home alone 2.

5. she is great at making conversation. (even if you don't feel like talking.)

6. she is always looking out for eden and lets me know if she has poop.

7. she can't help but make you smile even if she's mad and she is screaming

at you that you're not her friend.

8. she asks to go to bed at night.

9. she is girly and a tomboy at the same time.

10. she makes me laugh.

jack's birthday party

somehow i pulled off jack's birthday party. 

with only five hours of sleep, i had ran 18 miles, baked cupcakes and a cake, decorated,

cleaned and mothered 3 kids without the husband. jason took off shortly after i had

gotten done running to live out his dream of being a contestant on family feud. he had told

me 2 days prior that his family got picked for auditions on the same saturday as the party.

so, 10 minutes before go time, jason walked through the door and me, still a sweaty grease

ball covered in cake batter and frosting, headed to the shower.

as they say on broadway, the show must go on. and it did.

it wasn't the greatest party ever but i think jack still had fun. 

his friends watched a movie and ate popcorn and licorice until their little bellies were content.

then topped it off with some tasty marshmallow cupcakes.

hip hip hooray for birthday parties and for the crazy moms who throw them.

close your eyes

i really love this baby.

even though she refuses to take her afternoon nap.

jack's big day

7:00 am: jason wakes up to start making jack's favorite breakfast... pancakes. i crawl out of bed moments later to join him in the kitchen.

7:15 am: we march down stairs to awake the sleeping birthday boy with a yummy pancake breakfast in bed. jason carried the plate while i captured it on video. we awoke the newly sleeping 5 year old to the classic happy birthday song. he slowly opened his eyes and blew out his candle. not quite sure if he was still dreaming or if this was for real. later jason reminded me not to let anyone watch the video i took because of our amazing singing voices. i agreed.

7:21 am: shoveled down breakfast and began getting dressed for the big day.... first day of kindergarden! jack wanted to wear jeans even though it was a bazillion degrees outside. it was his birthday so what the heck.

8:06 am: on our way out the door to release my eldest into the wild.

8:13 am: arrived to Finley Farms Elementary where it was a madhouse. i had to park a half mile away.

8:15 am: began walking the half mile to jack's new school. jack stopped every 5 steps to try out his new fancy water bottle that can detatch from his new lunch box. i think at some point he may have regretted wearing those jeans. but who really knows.
8:22 am: arrived to the playground. i think jack was a little confused but mostly excited and in shock of how many kids there were. no matter what he wasn't letting go of his backpack or his lunchbox. 

8:24 am: jack found his buddy ryder and stopped to chat for the next ten minutes. they talked about backpacks and lunches and jack may have expressed to him several times how excited he was that they were going to be in the same class.
8:38 am: time for school to start. jack makes his way into his class room. i followed close behind realizing what a big day this really is. at this moment i got a little sad. all those days, good and bad, spent with jack are over and i am now turning him loose into uncharted territory. deep breaths.
8:43 am: arrive in mrs. mcgettigan's class room. i talk to jack for moment and we give each other one last hug and kiss. he looks at me as i'm walking away and says, "i love you mommy." my heart melts as i turn the corner and i feel my eyes filling with tears. i was able to hold back thank goodness. phew, that would have been pretty embarrassing. 

while jack was at school i ran, cleaned, birthday shopped, played with ava, didn't hear her cry once (awesome), showered, cleaned some more, and before i knew it, 7 hours had come and gone.

3:12 pm: back to finely farms to pick up jack where i waited in a long ridiculous line for over a half an hour and had to listen to eden cry and ava say over and over again "i want to get out." by the time i picked up jack i wanted to pull my hair out. but as soon as i say his big fat red cheeks all my not so happy thoughts went away.

3:59 pm: back at home where i started to prepare jack's special birthday dinner: cheese rice, mashed potatoes, chicken, and french bread with homemade strawberry jam. all requested by the birthday boy himself.

6:25 pm: finally jack got to open up his presents. he had been staring at them ever since he got home from school. i told him he had to wait until after dinner and only if he ate all his dinner. he had been begging for the UP video game...

*other presents included army men, a brand new bigger mater, and tractor. more disney pixar cars to add to his collection. well, its sort of both of our collection. i secretly enjoy buying and collecting them maybe more than he does :)

happy birthday jack!

we love you so.

p.s. we hope you had a super fabulous first day at kindergarden.

birthday with the grandparents

we went to my parents house this weekend to throw a birthday bash

 for all the early august birthdays.

three kids and three birthdays all within a week of each other.

there was swimming, eating, silly string fights, cake, and so much more.

jack living the good life.

eating cake while playing with cars. (sigh.)

jack's final days

little does jack know that his couch potato days are coming to an end.

kindergarden starts in 3 days!

hot diggity dog!!

growing pains

this is eden.

she is 8 months old.

she loves her binky.

she watches the ceiling fan spin for hours.

she can now crawl....forwards.

and she dreams of being a hurdler someday.

this is ava, the coolest big sister ever.

and those, back there, are buzz lightyear wings.

happy  8 months eden.