Rachel's First Day of Second Grade

School started today for Rachel! She was really ready to go back. She was a little nervous about going to a new school. She was worried about everything being different than it was at her old school. I tried to explain to her school was school no matter where you went. They would have lunch, recess, library, music, and PE. Even with my reassurance she did not believe me.

We got up early this morning and got everybody ready to walk Rachel to school. No more sleeping until 9am for us! Chris and I really like being on the school schedule, everybody goes to bed early! Dropping Rachel off for second grade was a lot easier than dropping her off for Kindergarten! The house was sure quiet today with Rachel not here to fight with Luke. Luke, Kate, and I played and waited for the Culligan man this morning and went grocery shopping after lunch. At 3pm we walked over to pick Rachel up. It sure was hot! Rachel met us with a smile. She talked all the way home about the differences and similarities between Greathouse and Fannin schools. She said the chicken sandwich tasted the same as the one at her old school, and they have chocolate milk too. She had a great day and really likes her teacher. She said there are lots of girls in her class, so we hope she makes new friends fast. We are praying for a great second grade year!

It is Official We Have Moved

We have spent this past week moving. We signed the papers on our new house on Monday and have been working hard ever since. We have moved countless boxes and toys. We hired movers to move the big stuff, which was a tremendous help! Our new house is now full of boxes and things just waiting to be put up. I really have my work cut out for me! I pretty much have my kitchen in order, and now I am working on the kids bedrooms. Chris and I have both commented that the house was prettier before we moved our stuff in, but we are excited to be in our new home!

It was hard saying goodbye to our old house. When we moved there it was just Chris, me, and Dixie. We moved there from a one bedroom apartment that was smaller than the garage. We were so proud of our first home. It took us half a day to move all our stuff in, and the house was practically empty except for our bed and living room furniture. We managed to fill it up in the nine years we lived there! We brought our three babies home to that house and acquired another dog. It is sad to think that Luke and Kate will not remember that house. It was hard to go back and clean it up after all our stuff was out of it. It just did not feel right without all our things. As I was cleaning the ledge of our big picture window in the den, I thought about all the empty baby bottles we sat down there. It was a weird thing to think about, but it is just one of the memories I have. There are a couple of things I will not miss about that house like the big trees in the front yard that I could not get grass to grow under and the green bathtub in the master bathroom that had been painted white and the paint started chipping off so the green showed through. That being said it was a good house and I will miss it!

School starts on Monday. Rachel will go to a new school. The only person she knows there will be her cousin Mason. We went and met the teacher on Thursday. I really think we got a good one. She has taught for 23 years. Rachel liked her too. Luke started soccer is past week, and Rachel will start cheerleading this next week. Looks like we will have a busy fall schedule.

Gone Fishin'

This weekend we decided to take a break from packing and go see Aunt Dena. Dena lives at Ceta Canyon in Happy, TX. Ceta Canyon is a church camp and retreat center. We were really looking forward to a little rest and relaxation. Ceta Canyon offers all the usual church camp activities like hiking, swimming, basketball, volleyball, and even a fishing pond.

We had promised to take the kids on their first fishing trip while we were there. I had never been fishing before either, so it was going to be a new adventure for all. I was a little nervous about what I was going to do if I actually did catch a fish. Chris promised me he would get the fish off the hook for me. As luck would have it, I was the first to catch a fish! I hollered for Chris, and he came to help as promised, but while he was getting the fish off the hook it got away from him.....so, there is a fish swimming in the bottom of the pond with a hook in its mouth, and the hook is attached to a Spongebob Squarepants fishing pole! After that little snag in out fishing trip, I learned to get my own fish off the hook. Rachel was the next to catch a fish. She was instantly hooked! She loves to fish! Well, she loves the catching part! Rachel was the big winner with 16 fish! I caught 6, Dena caught 3, and Luke caught 1(that was all he cared to catch). Dena and I would have caught more fish, but we were always helping Rachel get her fish off the hook.

Chris was able to find a few activities he was interested in too. He joined in a basketball game. The kids thought they had found them a Michael Jordan. They probably soon realized tall does not mean in shape! Chris had a great time playing with them, and after the game he found out they were from Midland too. Chris also enjoyed the diving boards at the pool. He wore himself out doing flips and dives.

For a special treat we roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. They were so good! What is camp without S'mores?

On our way home we all agreed we had a great time with Aunt Dena and want to come back again! Thanks Dena!

Press the sound button if you want to hear the music during the slide show.

Fun at the Diving Boards

All the kids, big and small, enjoyed the diving boards...

Chris flips...

Like father like son...

Just press the arrow to play, there really is a video to watch.

Packing Update #1

Here is a sneak peak of our new house!

As far as packing goes, we are coming right along. I have packed up most of our room, both bathrooms, coat closet, videos, and pictures. I still like some in the kids rooms, but I made a big dent in them yesterday. Chris has cleaned out the storage building, which was the biggest job of all! He has also organized the boxes in the garage. I still need to pack the kitchen, hall closet, utility room and office. I think we will make our deadline without a problem. I may be too optimistic though. My biggest challenge is keeping everything organized, so our house does not look like a bomb went off! Here are a few pictures of our progress.

We explained to Kate everybody had to pitch in...

then she whined something about not being able to walk yet!

Scooby Doo, Where Are You????

Can you guess who this is a pictures of? If you guessed Shaggy, you guessed right! Luke loves the character Shaggy from the Scooby Doo Cartoon. I took him to preschool yesterday dressed as Shaggy. He was so excited to show off his new identity. He was a big hit! He feels like he needs whiskers to complete his costume. I told him not many 4 year olds could grow whiskers.

Standing Tall!!!

It has been a big week for Baby Kate. She has gotten rid of her bottle and started standing. Before this week every time she thought you were going to make her stand alone she would just sit down. Two nights ago it became a game. I would stand her up, and she would just laugh. She new she was doing something big! Kate now drinks from only a sippy cup. The transition could not have been easier! I had no intentions of braking her, but one day she drank everything out of her sippy cup, so I kept giving it to her all day. It has been several days now, and she does not miss the bottle at all. I wonder how long it will take for her to add steps to her bag of tricks???