Student of the Month

Jared was student of the month for August.  His teacher is Ms. Conrad.  She is the one with the lighter blue shirt.

This is what his teacher said about Jared before he got his certificate. It was written on the back so he could keep it.  "This gentleman has been respectful since the first day I met him.  He always raises his hand and shows nothing but respect and caring for his classmates.  He is a hard worker and always does his best.  I am so glad that he is in our classroom community.  Way to go, Jared Walker!"

First Day of School

School started on August 9th this year.  It seemed really early to me, but the kids were still excited to meet their teachers and make new friends.

Gwen, Jared, Nate, Bonnie

We like to take the kids out to dinner after the first day and talk about their day and their classes and their teachers and their new friends.  This year, after much debate, we decided to go to Red Robin and we had a great time.

Nate and Dad

Dad and Gwen

Bonnie, Mom, Jared

What are we watching?!?!

Today for a surprise we took the kids to the theater to see "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". They were pleasantly surprised and we had a good time. It was a really good movie. The kids all seemed to like it... at least until we got to the end when, of course, there was a kiss between love interests. Jared leaned over to Ben and said, "Isn't this supposed to be a battle movie?!"

I guess Disney knows how to ruin a perfectly good "battle movie". What were they thinking?

Rain

I know that I have posted four new posts today, but I really wanted to get caught up before school starts tomorrow. Hopefully I will do better in the coming months.

Last week we got an incredible rainstorm. The wind was blowing, there was lightning and thunder, and the rain was really coming down. The kids all wanted to go out and play in the rain and I told them no because I didn't want to deal with the mess after. Well, shortly after this I realized that we had forgotten to bring in our garbage can and the wind had blown it up the street. Not wanting it to hit anybody's car I went out to get it (Ben couldn't go fast enough due to the boot on his foot). Well, after less than a minute in the rain I was drenched. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and realized that a little mess was a small price to pay for the experience. So we called all the kids out and ran in the rain. Ben even took off his boot and joined us for a while.

Running up the street. The water in the gutters was several inches deep and the rain was coming in at an angle.

Bonnie's friend Tori was over playing at our house and came playing in the rain with us. Gwen was cold and wet at this point and ready to go back inside.

Ben and I after playing in the rain.

Broken Foot

While we were at Ben's family reunion Ben played soccer with several nephews, brothers, and brothers-in-law. In a fight for the ball at some point Ben got kicked in the shin by one of his nephews. After we got home and for the next couple of weeks Ben was doing okay but said that it just didn't feel right. Well two weeks after we returned home we spent several hours in the kitchen making three weeks worth of freezer meals. This was too much for Ben's foot and it got very swollen. The next morning we went to the urgent care and were informed that he had indeed broken his foot... either that or he had an extra bone in his foot. He wore a boot for a couple of weeks and is now back to a regular shoe. However, yesterday when I wanted to again make freezer meals, this time a month's worth, he opted to do sitting down jobs like cutting vegetables.

I took this picture for the fashion sense, but then realized it's the only one I have that shows Ben with his boot.

Gwen

Just wanted to share two pictures of my baby. Gwen lost her first tooth the day before her 6th birthday. She pulled it out all by herself. Way to go Gwen!

I have often wondered where my children get their sense of fashion. Previously I have thought that maybe I am to blame; however, I now offer proof that it comes from a completely different source.

Birthdays

Bonnie and Gwen have birthdays four days apart so this year we let them have a friend party together. They invited their friends to a swim party. Thankfully our friends, The Piepers, let us use their neighborhood pool.

All the kids swimming.

Gwen and Bonnie with their birthday cake. They decided that they wanted to share a cake that was strawberry and chocolate. The inside was even strawberry chocolate checkerboard, but I forgot to get a picture of it.

All the kids that were at the party.

We did separate family parties on their individual birthdays and these were some of the presents they received.

Bonnie had been asking for a black skirt for months and was very excited to FINALLY get one.

Gwen is loves dresses and was very excited to get another new dress.