So...

This person starts Kindergarten tomorrow. For real - like all day, take the bus, no kidding around this time. This will be his 4th "school" in the last 12 months. Seriously. He's thrilled. His best friend, Teshie, is in the same classroom so I don't think it could even get more exciting. Oh, and, his teacher is named after an animal. That's super cool (in case you didn't know)!

And to make things more exciting, this person started 2nd grade at his new school today and LOVED it! He was all smiles when he got off the bus this afternoon. I am so happy for him b/c he's been terribly nervous about it. It's hard to start at a new school where most of the other kids already know each other and have friends. They know how the bus works, where the bathroom is, how to buy milk at lunch - all that stuff. I think it helped that he did know a couple of boys in his class from basketball and baseball but when I asked if he talked to them today he said "no." And even though he told me he didn't play with anyone at recess he said he lots of fun. Oh, my sweet boy.

I'm hoping that this will be a terrific year for the boys - that they'll love their new school, make lots of good friends, learn tons of new stuff and have fun everyday!

He's kind of a big deal

I don't know if you heard but Eli's team won their t-ball championship game!! I just can't believe what little superstars I have on my hands... two kids, two different teams and they both won their baseball championships. Wow!!

Listen! He might look like he's ready out there but really he's fully prepared to completely ignore any ball that comes even close to him so that the pitcher can run to the outfield for it. He's generous like that - always letting someone else grab the spotlight.

The game eventually got so intense that Eli actually had to wear his rally cap and put his glove on the wrong hand. I think he was trying to intimidate the other team!

After a huge hit that almost but not quite made about half way to the pitcher, Eli made his way around the bases (after he found them that is) and scored for his team!!

In all seriousness though we're very proud of Eli. He wasn't quite sure about playing t-ball - he didn't think he'd be very good at it. And I think he may have had a touch to PTSD from our first try a couple of years ago where he could only scream and cry. This year though he got out there, gave it his best try and had fun. Great job, Eli!

Bunch of Random Stuff

In no particular order...

1) Eli loves the feel of wind in his hair. This is the first year that the boys have both loved being out on the boat just riding around enjoying a lovely summer day. It's heaven and we're really lucky that Troy's parents live on a lake so we can enjoy this part of summer!

2) Here's proof that time spent without Mommy is very good indeed. Had I been along to on this day at the lake the boys would probably never would have been allowed to try out tubing behind the boat... alone! But look at them - they are doing it and loving it. Freaks me right out but I try to keep that to myself. But man, look how far away they are from the boat.

3) The Washta Fire Department is in the process of putting in this bench in honor of my dad. The plaque says "In Memory of Jerry Tuttle, Washta Firefighter for 27 years." It's beautiful and so is the stonework they are doing around it. I can't wait to see it when it's done. My dad loved being a part of the fire department and had so many friends there so this is very special to see.

4) Henry played in his first coach-pitch baseball league this year. The season started in April and just ended last week. It was amazing to see how much the boys improved over the course of the season. I guess playing 3 nights a week really does help. As you can see our team won the championship!! Look how excited the boys were. OK - that's really not true - you got me. They didn't actually keep score and there wasn't actually a championship game but, this was the last game of the season and the boys did think they won so in their minds...

5) Sometimes Eli and I are early picking Henry up from school so we take silly pictures of ourselves in the car to pass the time.

6) H&E love to bake - cakes, cookies, muffins, pies - anything sweet! So when we heard that Kiley was going to be in town for her birthday the boys made a plan. We'd make a cake and it had to be pink and it had to have sprinkles - because Kiley is a girl and that's what a girl cake looks like. So we did just that only I had to draw a line down the middle of the cake so each boy could decorate their own side b/c they clearly had different ideas on the kind, number and placement of the sprinkles. Kiley was such a great sport about it (she doesn't even like cake I found out afterward!) and so were all of her friends who came into town with her! Plus Auntie made the most delicious dinner that we enjoyed thoroughly! It was a perfect evening.

7) My mom's in the hospital and is going to have to miss her dear niece Samantha's wedding this weekend. Please think good thoughts for her because I know that not only does she feel like crap but she's incredibly sad to be missing this most special day. We're also thinking good thoughts for my Aunt Jo who had a biking accident last weekend which required surgery on her hip and their family will also be missing the wedding. My sisters and I are heading to the wedding and will do our best to represent our side of the family. We're thrilled to be able to witness Samantha marrying her dream guy!!

8) Boys are cooler than girls and according to Eli, I'm almost a boy so I'm cool too.

Buns in the Oven

As many of you know we're on a never-ending quest to get the boys to try new foods. Last week we were trying to stretch the food we had in the house so we had breakfast for dinner - one of our favorite meals! The only problem was we were out of bread and that meant the boys wouldn't get their beloved sprinkle toast. Then I remembered a fun little thing my mom used to make for us - Buns in the Oven! All you do is generously butter any type of leftover bun you have, sprinkle it with copious amounts of cinnamon sugar and pop it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Delicious!! And I know that it doesn't really constitute a new food but it does look different and they did try (and loved!) it so I give them credit.

You didn't think I meant the other type of bun in the oven did you??

If it weren't for you meddling kids

We saw the Mystery Machine in the Target packing lot recently! The boys were so excited, as you can see.

The many faces of Eli

Eli was in a funny mood yesterday at Henry's game. Honestly he was bored and just wanted to go home so I took out my little purse camera and let him run around taking pictures of whatever he wanted. In between he wanted me to take pictures of him in all his cuteness.

Smile - senior pics!

Deranged Pirate

Invisible Dart Blower

What happens at fight club stays at flight club!

He's Popeye the Sailor Man ... toot toot!

Everybody was fung ku fighting!!

And his peaceful quiet spirit practicing yoga.

Can't wait to see what today brings with this person who is so full of life and has such a fun, entertaining personality!!

Birthdays, Graduation, The Farm - Oh My!

I'll save you the whole "woe is me I've once again fallen behind on blogs so now I have a million things to tell you" story. We've had tons of fun recently that I haven't posted about so I'll try to catch you up. So, without further ado...

Eli's Kindergarten Graduation from Kinderberry Hill

Eli started going to KBH in March (after a long battle with Crossroads regarding us moving out of district) and even though he had yet to turn 5 they allowed him to start in their kindergarten program. Since it's a private school they don't really have to follow the birthday guidelines. And since we knew he'd be attending kindergarten again at ED Williams we thought this would give him a great head start. He loves it and had really flourished at KBH. They had their graduation ceremony this past week - it was just adorable. Eli was so proud. Here's a short video of the best parts - I cut of all of the middle b/c it got a little long and because you can't really hear what's going on.

Henry Turns 7!

Henry's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. We were in Iowa that weekend so he got to celebrate with his cousins, etc and that was probably the best thing ever! We didn't really have a party for him this year - well that's not really true b/c he and Eli shared a friend party at Pump It Up! - but we didn't have one at home I guess. He had a baseball game on his birthday so we took cupcakes to share with the team. Auntie and G&G Schally came to the game and then we headed out to Champps for dinner afterward. So far I think he's enjoying his new found seven-year-oldnesss.

Iowa

We've taken a couple of trips to Iowa recently. We all love going but the boys just have so much fun with their cousins! We were thrilled to get to celebrate Kiley's high school graduation recently on one of our trips. And on the other the boys had "The Best Day Ever" at my sister Heidi's in-laws farm. They got to ride the tractor (thanks Tom!) and the golf cart (thanks Paige!) and see the animals including 2 sets of baby kitties and tons of baby calves. We are so lucky to have such wonderful families!!

And... Eli's 5!

I know this is old news since it actually happened in March but here are some pictures from his awesome Pirate birthday party we had for him. He was so excited to turn 5. It does seem like a magical age where they turn from a little kid into a big kid - at least in their own mind. Add to that the fact that he changed schools and was a real live kindergartener (is that a word?) and wow he really was a big kid. We're extremely proud of him!! He's had a lot of changes in the past year and he's handled them perfectly with seamless transitions.

In other news - we have a new deck, which is really great. In the very short amount of time we've lived here we really did miss having one. Troy has been working really hard on the lawn and the landscaping - everything is coming along nicely. We have a meeting this week with a landscape designer to help put together a plan for the yard. We're not sure how much will actually be planted this year but having a plan will be extremely helpful.

So, until next time...