First Day of School 2010

Wow...I am up and going so early now. Faith catches her bus a whole hour earlier than Sawyer and Eden now so I am up with her. I need to do a lot of stuff around the house that got neglected this summer but am not quite in the mood yet. The kids just had 1/2 day yesterday and all were very happy and excited! I honestly don't think Faith was the slightest bit nervous about getting on the jr. high bus or heading to her new school. I am very thankful for her confidence. We had 6th grade curriculum night last week and I think it helped. They divide the 6th graders into four teams. She is on team "S". She has two teachers that teach all her core classes. Her team is the smallest...maybe 50-60 kids or so. She found that she has several friends on her team. Her teachers are the only ones that do block scheduling (her classes every other day for 90 min.). I did my student teaching in a school that did block scheduling and loved it from the teaching perspective. I think Faith will enjoy it too. We introduced ourselves to her teachers and they seemed very nice...she said they were great yesterday as well. She is participating in 6th grade band this year and they are split into two bands. She is the only clarinet..which I think is odd. We will see how that goes. Today she will experience P.E., lunch and getting ready for an after school sport.

I feel bad not writing more about Sawyer and Eden but it is the normal elementary school routine for them again this year. They were both really happy with their teachers and the bus is old hat for them. They have five fewer kids at their stop now because those kids have moved up to jr. high. Sawyer was the only one with homework last night...typical. I feel very fortunate that my oldest three love school and that it is easy to get them out the door in the morning! Bex starts pre-school in a couple of weeks...that will be a different story.

Here's some pics. It was weird not taking a picture of all three of them together. Faith left before the other two were even out of bed.

Cross Country

So...Faith is running Cross Country right now. There are some things I have learned about this sport in the last week that I would like to share and remember.

It took some persuading to get Faith to join the team and here were my reasons she should go for it...

1. You will get in way better shape.
2. Running is good for you.
3. You are attending a very large jr. high and the chances of you ever being on any sort of team is very slim.
4. You don't have to try out for Cross Country...they take everyone.
5. Riding the bus to away meets will be fun.
6. It will give you chance to meet new kids before school starts.
7. Since you are wanting to get more serious about softball, this will help you to stay in better shape until softball starts up again.
8. You might decide you really like it.
9. Your friend, Emma, is doing it.

She agreed with me and decided to give it a shot. I told her that if she hated it with a passion then she could quit.

Here are the things I have learned...

1. Cross Country is not for wimps. These kids, no matter how fast or slow, run 2-5 miles 5-6 days a week. They also do lots of warm-ups that would kick my butt.
2. They have to watch what they eat and not eat 2 1/2 hours before running in a meet...they must also drink lots of water during the day but also not right before a meet. A peanut butter bagel with 1/2 a banana is ideally what you eat the 2 1/2 hours beforehand.
3. It is a very supportive, non-political sport. You see...there are no try-outs which = non-political.
4. Cross Country parents are just as fanatical and crazy as parents from any other sport I have seen. I saw one parent today (a mom) about 50 yards from the finish line yelling (in a supportive way) at her kid and running with them through other spectators until the finish line.
5. If you follow correct Cross Country etiquette you wait and cheer on the very last runner...even if it takes them 30 min. to do 2 miles and they need not be from your team.
6. There is an 8th grade boy from Faith's school that can run 2 miles in 11 minutes and that is awesome!
7. It is an inexpensive sport compared to many other sports.
8. One can be very small and have short legs but still run very, very fast.
9. Some kids vomit at the finish line. Faith informed me today that she will never push herself so hard that she vomits...can't blame her there!

The good news is...I was right about all the reasons Faith should join. I love it when that happens :) Although not the fastest runner...she can do 2 miles without stopping and is improving all the time. I am very, very proud of her efforts. Best of all....she really does like it!! I knew nothing about Cross Country (except that you run) until the last couple of weeks. A lot of nerdy type people ran it...and very few girls... when I was in high school so I never paid much attention but now I have an all new respect. Faith's jr. high has between 60-70 kids on the team.

Got my background back.

Lost my background for awhile and decided the black was kind of nice. I am pretty computer illiterate so I was having issues. This one is actually a little bit different...but will do. I was very tempted to get the new "Eclipse" background but I refrained in fear of getting made fun of...it even had pics. of all the characters! Kalista....are you there....go check it out at cutestblogontheblock.?? I want to see it on yours. No one will make fun of a little girl.

Look who can ride a two-wheeler!!!

Kyle worked with Eden a little bit last summer and just a few times this summer on her two-wheeler. She didn't seem to be catching on very well but was very adamant about working on it last weekend. We figured she must be ready...and she was. She has been out everyday this week perfecting her new skill. She has been very pleased with herself and it has been fun to watch! She was even practicing when it was dark and sprinkling outside (as you can see by the pics).

Getting ready for SCHOOL!!!!!!!

Sawyer got Mrs. Minor for 4th grade...I know nothing about her but am hoping for the best. Eden got Mrs. Scott for 1st grade...whom I hear is awesome :) Eden also has one of her besties in her class, which made her very happy. The kids are ready to start school. I have spent about a million dollars on school supplies, registration, clothing, activities and eating out for lunch while shopping for everything. My pal Jenny and I had our annual garage sale in July which funds back-to-school shopping every year! This year we are all experiencing something new for us...JR. HIGH! I actually think they needed less supplies but do have to have the extra clothing for PE. Faith also decorated her locker...which is very popular to do here. She has had to memorize 2 locker combinations. We walked through her schedule the other day and it was pretty simple. She is going from a 5th grade class of 100 kids to a 6th grade class of about 500 kids. I actually don't think she is nervous...just excited.

The kids are all ready to start school. They get so excited about their school supplies. They are getting bored of going to the pool and are wanting me to take them out to eat everyday. It is time.

Here are some pics. of Faith decorating her locker (we went on 2 different days) and some of her BFF's.

Summer Activities

I am way behind...I am always way behind. A month of our summer was occupied with family but the kids also kept pretty busy this summer with sports and camps. Sawyer participated in a week long soccer camp with his friend, Grayson, (of which I have no photos of...bad mom). However, my good friend Shelly has some and has them on her blog for myself to look at. Hey Shell...can you make me some copies??? The camp was 1/2 the day for a week. It was super hot out but he enjoyed every minute of it. He also did a week long (all day) chess camp. It was from 9-3. He also loved every minute of it. Again...no pics. Parents weren't invited. It was a drop off, pick up thing. It took place at a Baptist church where they also included a religious message in their break time. Can't go wrong there!

The girls both participated in softball this summer. I LOVE softball. I could watch it all day....well maybe not Eden's age group but definitely Faith's! This was Eden's first year and it went well. She improved a lot. It is coach pitched and through the parks and rec. She told me one day that she didn't like it because she doesn't like "the ball or sweating." Eden had a very nice coach. I think he was a college student and handled a dozen 5-6 year old girls very well. Faith, on the other hand loves softball! She was on an awesome team this year. She was on a losing team last year so this was a nice change for her (and me)! She had the nicest coaches as well! They consisted of a couple of dads and a grandpa. Faith improved in every area this year and can hit the ball really well. She even hit three or four doubles. She went through a batting slump toward the end of the season but was back hitting again by the tournament. They came in 3rd place in the tournament. I honestly thought they would come in 1st but it wasn't to be. It amazes me how well 10 and 11 year old girls can play softball. We are already looking forward to next year and Faith is planning on working hard to improve her skills even more. Faith also started running Cross Country a few weeks ago for her school. She is really enjoying it and has her first meet tonight.

Here are a few photos from softball. I wish I had a really good camera. The one photo is of Faith and one of her besties, Jaclyn, who was on her team this year.

Happy 45th Anniversary!

While the family was visiting we were able to celebrate my parents 45th wedding anniversary! They were married July 24th, 1965. We were all able to eat out at a nice restaurant and celebrate with NO KIDS!! I think this is the first time we all felt comfortable to leave them all at home without an adult. We had a great time! I am pretty sure my brothers and I are all in agreement that we have amazing parents. We are so fortunate to all love each other and want to be together. Our family has been very blessed in many, many ways!

Family Togetherness

More pics....

Family...cont...

Well, now that I waited so long I have almost forgotten what else we all did. On July 4th we set off lots of fireworks in our backyard and at an undisclosed location. ALL the guys (minus Bex) went to Chicago for a White Sox game and had a lot of fun. Sawyer was in his version of heaven spending time with my nephews (who were very sweet with him). Most of our time was just spent hanging out. We had a few very late nights of Rockband and talking with my nephews and nieces (not with my brothers or sis-in-laws though...they are too old hahahaha). We had family pics. taken at the very end of the stay out at Miller Park. I am STILL waiting to get those back and it is taking forever. Picture day was the last day we were all together and we came back to our house, had a big meal and celebrated a few b-days. My big bro, Tyler, turns 40 on Aug. 6th and my niece Madison turns 13, and Kalista 11at the end of the month. We rarely get to spend any b-days together so it was a lot of fun. My nieces, Kalista and Kara stayed on for another 2 weeks after everyone else left. My kids loving have their cousins around to keep them entertained. We had so much fun and miss everyone like crazy! On my next post, I am going to try to sum up the rest of our summer activities. Summer vacation has gone WAY TOO FAST!!