Last day of school!!!!!

I can’t believe that it is already the last day of school. So much has happened this year. My boys have grown so much. It is amazing to see their independence and maturity. Matthew is all ready for the first grade and Benjamin will be going on to the third grade. CRAZY!!! Their teachers have been amazing and I have enjoyed volunteering in their classrooms and getting to know not only the teachers but also their classmates. I’m going to miss seeing some of them. Here’s to a summer full of laughter, fun and lots and lots of sun!

Benjamin on his first day of school

Matthew on his first day of school

Benjamin on his last day of school

Matthew on his last day of school



Caution...this post contains blood

Look what happened at dinner last night!!!

And we didn't even know it was that loose.  He just started crying because it scared him, but then he thought it was cool because there was so much blood.

When it rains it pours…

Please excuse my ramblings…I am suffering from a broken heart.  It’s really sad that this is really the only digital picture I have of Whitey.  I have a lot of photos of him, I would just have to scan them in.  Today is a bittersweet day for me.  That cat has been getting older and he has had some problems lately associated with age and I finally had to do the responsible pet owner thing and bring him into the vet.  It was discovered that it was his time to leave us and go to heaven and be with Zeus and BC and to be the lap cat he needs to be with Grandma Pope.  Chad and I have known that he has been getting sick.  I think we just didn’t want to admit it.  When I was in the vet’s office, all I could think about was what a beautiful cat he was.  And he was very lovable.  He just had to have a pet when you came in the door.  Of course he would leave evidence of being that said lap cat!!!!  So, while I am glad he no longer has to be confined by his limitations, I'm saddened that I will no longer hear his meow or be able to pet him just one more time.
Whitey came to us fully grown when we lived in Blackfoot.  He was just hanging out at the back door and Chad and I both said, well, let’s bring him in and see what happens.  Of course, BC and Georgie were upset.  But Whitey came in, sniffed around, and when right down to the litter box in the basement and did his business.  Chad and I just had to keep him.  He became a great addition to our little family.  He was just like a rag doll.  And it was therapeutic to have him on my lap and just pet him and let him purr.  Whitey was the best at that.  After Benjamin was born we had to kick one of the cats out to the garage.  BC and Whitey were constantly fighting and Whitey was making messes, and actually that move was the best for him.  He truly thrived out there by himself with control of the garage and outside.  It was his domain.  But then the other three moved out there with him and I think he was still ok with it, but it just wasn’t the same as when he had it all to himself.  I think the last few years have been hard on him.  He’s gotten older and two of his playmates have gone on to the next life and it just hasn’t been as much fun.  I can just imagine him now either wrestling with BC and Zeus or sitting in a sunny spot taking a cat nap.
I love you Whitey and I’m gonna miss you.

Ringing In The New Year….Disneyland Style

Chad and I decided to surprise the boys with a trip to Disneyland over the Christmas Break.  I think the hardest thing was not telling them until we were on our way, but we kept quiet about it.  And it was a much needed break.  Chad has been teaching another night class, plus we are adjusting to his new schedule of 4 10’s and it feels like we never get to really spend anytime together.  So, on New Year’s Day, we loaded up the car and headed south, hoping for warmer temps and sunny skies, and we got both! 

 

The boys in front of the Ferris Wheel and roller coaster.  Just so happy to be there.

 

Waiting for a ride on the carousal.

 

 

Matthew has had a loose front tooth for like a year.  It had finally got to the point where I could have pulled it out if he wanted me to, but he kept saying it would hurt too bad.  Then at lunch on Wednesday, he just said, “Ding, Ding, Ding” and held up his tooth.  He had pulled it out himself!  And, eating was much easier after that.

 

We actually got into Radiator Springs Racers for the first time, and it was worth it.  What a fun ride.  I can’t wait to go back in the off season to do this one over and over and over!

 

Both parks were decked out for the holiday season and everything was so beautiful.  The castle had snow on it, the haunted mansion became The Nightmare Before Christmas and the parades all had holiday themes to them.  What a great time to be in the park.

 

One of the few pictures with me in it.  That’s the problem when you are the picture taker.

 

Beautiful Christmas tree.

 

Pam and Marie both came down to spend some time with us…Pam for the day, and Marie for dinner at P.F. Changs.  It is nice to have family close and to be able reconnect, even if just for a few hours.

 

It was a great trip.  The boys were shocked and excited and the parents were glad to be in the warm, sunny weather of Southern California.  If there weren’t so many people there, and if the politics weren’t so left leaning, we might, and I said might, just possibly just maybe think just a little about moving there.  But there would have to be lots of changes going on!!!

Oh no...

And this is what happens when you are co-chairman of the school's book fair.  Absolutely nothing else gets done for that week.

Guess I have some work to do.

Fall Colors

We took a little Sunday drive yesterday afternoon.  It has been so smoky in this neck of the woods the past few days, so when we got a smidgen of rain to make our visibility 1/2 mile, we jumped on the chance.  We were going to go the backside of Buckskin and then into Inkom and back, but got a little side-tracked and ended going up China Peak.  And what a sight.  It was so beautiful, the colors were absolutely amazing and if the smoke had completely cleared out we would have been able to see to Boise…but there was smoke still on the horizon so no can do.  Overall it was a great little outing for a Sunday afternoon and I would do it again if given the chance.

If you look close enough in the last picture you can see my house!!!

First Day of School

Matthew had his first real day of kindergarten on Tuesday.  Boy was he excited.  And I was just a little sad.  There were only a few tears when he went in the building.  He had had an orientation hour the Thursday before where we both went to his class to learn all about what he would be doing.  There were fun little centers set up for him to work on with me and he got to meet his teacher.  (He already knows her, she is in our ward, but he got to “officially” meet her.)  That day I bawled like a baby.  It suddenly hit me right as I was leaving that my baby was going to be in school.  And he is such a little guy that I worry that he’ll be knocked over in the morning on the playground because those 2nd graders are just sooo big.  I think some of my fears transported over to him and he became his clingy old self.  Which made it even harder.  But, after I wiped those tears dry, I knew that he would be in good hands.  So, on Tuesday, he got in the line perfectly and he was all ready for his big day.  Yesterday, both his aide and teacher told me that Matthew did just perfectly.  That he was the one they used as an example when they wanted something done.  And at the end of the day, he got to be the big line leader out of the building.  What a big boy.  I am sure proud of my Matthew.