Back to School

Mattie & Mrs Clift Aimee & Mrs Carr Andrew & Mrs Dolmage

This was our first week back to school! Mattie was the only one excited out of the bunch because she started Kindergarten!!! I drove Andrew, Aimee and Mattie to their school, which is tradition so I can get the first day of school pictures! Andrew wasn't very excited about that. He wanted to just ride the bus! I did get a few pictures of Andrew, but he basically didn't want anything to do with us and wouldn't even walk with us. Are we at the embarassment stage already???

We took Andrew to his classroom first, then delivered Aimee. Aimee wanted us to walk in with her so we did. She was ok once she saw her friend, Hannah and her other buddies! Then Thomas and I delivered Mattie to her classroom. Mattie went right in and we got her backpack unloaded. I accidentally spilled her lunch trying to get her lunchbox out of her backpack...opps!!! We got it back into her lunchbox without any other problems. Once we got Mattie's things put away, I helped her find her seat. Mattie sat right down and started coloring! She wasn't even sad. I wasn't sad either. I took a few more pictures, then we left.

As I was buckling Thomas into his carseat, he asked, "Where is Mattie?" I told him that she was at school. At that moment, I was overcome with emotion and shed a few tears, but it only lasted a moment. Thomas gave me a strange look, like he was confused or maybe it was disbelief or maybe shock that his errand buddy was no longer. Thomas was back to himself a second later and we were off to Wal-Mart for our weekly shopping trip.

When we were done at Wal-Mart, we took a "boy detour" and watched a big backhoe dump dirt into dumptrucks. They are doing some major road construction right next to one side of the Wal-Mart parking lot. We drove the van close to the construction area and Thomas and I got out and watched. Thomas loved watching! We probably watched for 20 minutes or so. It was kindof fun watching tractors again. We used to watch all the time when Andrew was Thomas' age.

Bethany rode her bus to school. I offered to take her, but she didn't want to wait around for me to drop everyone else off. B was a little stressed about her locker situation. She'd gone before school started to "Camp Longhorn," with her friend, Amanda and unfortunately didn't have all the required forms so she was unable to get her locker assigned. So during B's first day sometime, she was allowed to turn in all her forms (we made sure they were all there!!!) and was assigned a locker and was able to get all her textbooks. B was hoping that she could get a top locker, but ended up with a bottom locker.

Well, now it's Friday night and we've survived our first week. We barely made it to the bus stop yesterday! We are all struggling in the morning! Mattie loves school, but is so worn out by the end of the day! She is making new friends and learned about "GERMS" today! I got a phone call from Aimee's teacher today! She said that Aimee is doing really well and seems to like being in her class. Aimee has Mrs Carr, who was Andrew's 2nd grade teacher! Mattie has Mrs Clift, who was Aimee's Kindergarten teacher too!!! Andrew has Mrs Dolmage. He's in new territory since he's blazing the path at Shadow Forest! Andrew is liking school too. He got split up from some of his friends, but still has a fair share in his class this year so he's ok.

So far, Bethany is the only one who has had homework. Poor thing was up past midnight Thurs night trying to get a history worksheet done. I was trying to help her with it, but it was quite challenging. B has been testing my brain this week! The other night it was grammer. I can't help her with Spanish though, but maybe I'll learn some vocabulary this year!

Mattie brought home a brown bag assignment for me on Friday. I get to cut out and staple their first color book! Should be fun!

Hopefully this will be a good year for everyone!!!

Good-bye Dolly

Hello Dolly!

Our first hurricane experience for the year was a little disappointing! The kids had hoped that Dolly would come more our direction. Grandma and Grandpa Cutler were glad it didn't come our way since they flew home Wednesday morning!

Good-bye Grandma & Grandpa!

We got a lot of wind and quite a few clouds on Wednesday when Dolly came on land with a few sprinkles and a few quick downbursts, but that was it. Wednesday afternoon, it was my turn to teach the scouts. We were doing bike safety, how to change a tire and were supposed to go on a mile bike ride. Just as we were about to leave on the bike ride, we were hit with another rainband from Dolly, which decided to dump on us! So we skipped the bike ride and all went home. Andrew was pretty bumbed.

Dolly--Day 2

Yesterday, though, it was cloudy all day and rained most the day. The rain was very much needed...YEAH!!! We only got about an inch of rain though. Hopefully folks more north of us got some rain too...like Grandma and Grandpa Prince in Austin! The kids did have fun playing in all the rain! I enjoyed the cooler weather! It was only in the 80's yesterday!!!

We also found a few little friends, a "wiwl fwog," a "wiwl wizard," and a snail who were probably all hiding from all the rain!

Here's a movie of Mattie and Thomas playing in the rain! There's a big stream of water that comes out of our rain gutter that helps it drain better. The kids love running through it!

Our 4th of July

Our 4th of July started off watching the parade. Andrew opted to stay home with Grandma and Grandpa to sleep in. Once we got to the parade route, we found a nice shady spot to set up our chairs. A few minutes later, our friends, the Sorensens, came and sat next to us! The parade was a lot of fun, for a small town parade! At first, Thomas didn't really know what to do, but about half way through, he figured out how to collect the candy that was thrown out!

Suckers and icepops were the favorite hand-outs!!! Oh yeah, and the BUBBLE GUM!!!

After we got home from the parade, Aunt Paula came to visit for the rest of the day! Edd and Andrew started to work on the BBQ. Then we had an unexpected visitor---an afternoon thunderstorm!!! Edd and Andrew relocated the BBQ to the garage while everyone else played in the rain!

After the rain stopped, we were treated to some yummy BBQ chicken, which turned out quite scrumptous!

Just before dark, we went over to the park-n-ride to watch the fireworks. Just before we got to the park-n-ride, we had to stop for some duck that were crossing the road! After we parked, the kids got out and played "500," colored--Aimee drew a picture a picture of Thomas and Mattie colored a frame that Grandma Cutler had given her. Thomas mostly played in the truck!

Our friends, the Sorensens, ended up parking right next to us to watch the fireworks too! Aimee and Mattie played with Kayla and Lauren for a few minutes...then we watched the fireworks! The fireworks were pretty good and Thomas really liked them! It was fun to hear his reactions!

All in all it was a good day!

On Thursday, we had a pretty good rain storm, without thunder, so the kids wet outside to play! At first it was Thomas running up and down the rain filled gutters, then Mattie joined him. Aimee came out for a few minutes and rode the scooter around, which Andrew just commented about how that was dangrous because she was barefooted. That's exactly how Andrew split his toe open last year, which gave him a bunch of stiches!!!

Anyway, Aimee didn't stay out long because she was in her swim suit and got cold. It was a cool rain, must have had a cold front??? I don't know, I haven't watched the weather lately! Thomas and Mattie stayed out probaby 30-45 minutes just having the time of their lives! Thomas just rain back and forth in the gutters, but Mattie broke out in song and dance.

First, Mattie started singing in the gutter, but then she moved up onto the man hole cover across the street in my neighbor's yard. That's where she performed this video clip! She's quite the performer!

June Highlights

It's the end of June already! Wow, time flies! Here are some of the highlights from the month:

We got invited to our friends, the Sanders, for a bbq and swim. Thomas decided that he didn't like his floaties anymore! He just likes to jump in over and over again. Buddy Sanders is Edd's running partner right now. The Sanders have 3 girls, Shantel (15), who Mattie hung out with all night, Mickel (12) and Cierra (8). We had a great time! The best part was the waterslide! Thomas tried the slide, but he didn't like!

Thomas jumping into the pool to Edd!

Andrew going down the slide head first!

Mattie dancing with Shantel!

Another highlight was when Riley, our neighbor came over to play! He will be turning 2 in July. He lives two doors down. Thomas and Riley are cute together! Usually we are at his house because Riley has a swimming pool. One day, Thomas got it into his head that he wanted to "go wimwim at Wiley's house!" He kept saying it over and over and over!!! I did get him distracted and we moved onto something else. So one morning Riley and his mom, Diana came over just to say hi, but Riley had so much fun playing with Thomas that he didn't want to go. He ended up getting carried home kicking and crying! I'm glad that Thomas has such a cute friend! Another day, Riley's mom invited us to come swimming at their house. Of course, Thomas didn't want his floaties and just jumped in over and over again. He made it look so fun that Riley, who'd been scared of the water since he fell into his pool about a month ago, decided to jump in and be like Thomas! By the end of the day, Riley was jumping in almost as fast as Thomas!

Thomas and Riley

One Saturday, we decided to do a bunch of yard work. We ended up cutting down a small tree, which Edd had just finished doing in this picture! We also yanked out a bunch of plants that we didn't like from the landscaping from the owners before us. The yard looks so much better now, except for the flower bed below the master window, which has become Andrew's mud pit. We need to get some flowers there soon. But first we'll have to let everything dry out from all the water and the rain we've had the last few days. Aimee planned out a new flower arrangement for me. She really likes gardening!

Edd and his hatchet!

Thomas got special sister treament one day when Bethany decided to make him a BIG slide with her mattress. Thomas loved it! He'd climb up as soon as his feet hit the floor! The other kids were sad because B would only let Thomas use the slide because he's still little!

Thomas and the BIG SLIDE!

Andrew and his Bear den went to Twilight Camp, which was a 3 day cub scout camp. The camp was held in the afternoon Tues - Thurs. I volunteered to organize the carpooling since I'm one of the Bear leaders, but wasn't going to camp. I was a little stressed, but it worked out ok. I only had to drive on the way home on the last day, which I was glad about. The day before I was supposed to drive, my check engine light came on. I decided I'd better get it taken care of right away since I didn't want the van to break down on me while I had a bunch of people with me.

Andrew at Twilight Camp's closing ceremony.

At the end of the month, Edd was able to attend the Prince Family reunion up in St George, Utah! He had a good time hanging out with his family and relatives that were able to attend! Edd was able to go repelling with Uncle Brent and some of the cousins. Edd also was treated to a tour of the area where Gma & Gpa Prince and their ancestors grew up in Southern Utah.

Dallan (Edd's bro), Edd, Joe (another bro), Grandma Prince, Grandpa Prince, Paula (Edd's sis), Leon (Edd's dad)

The last week of the month was Girl's Camp! Bethany was pretty excited! This is a picture of Bethany, with her friend Cheney on the left, getting their gear ready to load up. The girls were at camp Tues-Fri. When I picked Bethany up on Friday, she said that her favorite part was climbing the rock wall and then doing the zipline to get down!

Bethany and her friend, Cheney, all ready to go!

The day that Bethany left for Girl's Camp, Grandma and Grandpa Cutler flew in from SLC for a visit. Grandma came to have her foot fixed by our friend, who is a foot doctor. We have been having fun with them here!

Mattie and Thomas making cookies with Grandma!

I guess the best part of June was the fact that summer started!!! What a summer it has been!!!