First Day of School!!

(It's a SNOW DAY!!!  So, let's see how many blog pages I can get done today!!)

Oh my goodness!  A 5th grader!  Intermediate School! 

  He is so stinkin handsome!!  

This year his bus comes at 7am!!  YIKES!!!  

 

But, the early bus didn't stop Jaden from getting up EXTRA EARLY on the first day of school to see his brother off!  I think he's a little sad Tyler won't be on his bus and at his school this year!

 New outfits!  New backpacks!!  All ready for the First Day!!

 

YES!  I still get in my car and follow the bus to school on the first day of school!  As much as I am ready for them to go back to school after summer....it's still sad!!  I love seeing them get off the bus that first day!  Here's Jaden and his BEST BUD, Carson Roy!!

  

 2nd grade desk!!  Busy work to start the day!

Where's your Popsicle stick with your name on it??  

 

AHH!!!  Leah Wilkinson is in Paige's class this year!  Super FUN!!

 

Mrs. Whelan AGAIN!!!!  2nd Grade ROCKS!!!  It's going to be A GREAT YEAR!!!

Mrs. Hommertzheim for 3rd grade!!!  We have not had her before!!  (But since this post is 6 months into school---I can tell you JADEN LOVES HER!!!!)  

Super awesome teacher!!!

3rd Grade/2nd Grade/5th Grade

Good luck this year my sweet-hearts!!  I am so glad you like school!!!

 

 

 

Family FUN Saturday!

 Today is the LAST SATURDAY and last full free day before school starts.

  SO---we declared it Family FUN Saturday!  

 We thought of as many FUN things to do in one day that we could!

First we started the morning with cinnamon rolls and we finished watching the movie Titanic, that we started yesterday!  (The kids LOVED this movie and remember tons of it from the museum in Branson that we went to!)  (Yes, we had to fast forward through one "not appropriate scene")!

We then headed to the pool for a little morning swim!

 

 Home to shower, lunch at Taco Bell, drinks at QT (it's a SPECIAL treat when we let the kids get 32 oz drinks) a quick trip to Sports Authority for the boys and Children's Place for the girls.

Then, Bowling

It ended up being COSMIC BOWLING part of the time we were there!  An extra special treat!

Up next...  CHERRY BERRY for some ice-cream

Next Stop...Gma and Gpa Roth's!  They had a surprise for the kids....

New Shirts for the boys and Cowgirl boots for Paige!  YEA!!  NEW school goodies!

Last Stop ... All Star Adventure

Miniature Golf and 1 ride...it was getting late!

Home for a movie, nacho dinner, and then milkshakes before bed!

WOW!!!  That was a packed day!  We started at 9:30am and went to bed at 10pm!  

We had more ideas of things to do....but... ran.out.of.time.

So glad there was no whining, fighting, arguing, threatening, etc....

on our 

SUPER FUN FAMILY SATURDAY!!!!! (ha!)

It really was a FUN day!  A great way to end summer!!!

Horseback Riding!

My friend's mom has horses on their "ranch" in Peabody! 

 So we took the kids to the big city to ride horses!

Since it has rained for WEEKS AND WEEKS recently, the country roads are A MESS....to say the least!  We didn't ask for directions and trusted the old GPS and that was not a good idea.

By the time we got there...this is what our truck looked like!  

 

Steve washed it by hand at the car wash and then I took it through a car wash the next day.

Dirt was still falling off it, 3 days later!  GROSS!!!

I am thankful Steve was with us or I would have probably turned around at the sight of the first "pond in the road" or sticks that had to be moved out of the way to drive on the road.

 We told the kids they got to go mudding AND horseback riding all in the same day!

 

 

 

 Deanna's mom not only let the kids ride, she taught them how to brush and take care of the horses, how to saddle the horses, walk them, ride them, check the hoofs, and more.  

It was very cool.

  The kids LOVED IT!!!

Yes, Paige wanted to wear her "riding boots"!

Tyler forgot his tennis shoes (don't ask, it's a long story) so he had to wear Steve's tennis shoes! Thankfully Steve had brought an extra pair!

It was a fun FAMILY morning (once we got there and out of the mud!!!)

 **Jaden and Paige switched horses for fun right before the picture. 

 Jaden didn't ride the tiny one, but for a few minutes!**

Rodeo fun

The first weekend in August is always the HARVEY COUNTY FAIR! 

 Which to us means the RODEO!

(or "Radio" as my kids called it for many years!)

For Steve it means...Good homemade Mexican food for dinner!

This year our cousins went with us!  Which makes it extra special and more fun!

 First Stop---The Animals

Next Stop:  The Rides

 

 This airplane ride was MY FAVORITE as a kid!  I remember riding it with my dad!  

So, I was happy to ride it with the girls since they weren't tall enough without an adult!

 

 And Finally...It's time for the R O D E O

 

 The big boys!

 

Poor dad stood in line for nearly an hour....during the rodeo....to get snacks for everyone!

A 2nd burrito for Tyler, Funnel cake for Jaden, and Snow-cone for Paige!

 

 And, now it's time for the KIDS to head to the arena to chase after the calfs!

Tyler and Jaden were talking on the way to the rodeo about ... if they won....they would split the money!

 

WELL!!!!  TYLER WON!!!!

He caught the Calf!!!  AND WON THE CASH!!!!

Only....it was $8, not a $1000, like the boys were remembering or dreaming from previous years!

So---Tyler got to keep the whole $8 for himself!

Another fun night with the family this summer!

EIGHT!!!

EIGHT.... YEARS.... OLD!!!!!

Since Jaden is a HUGE dog lover (I think he will be a vet when he grows up)---

we had his friend birthday party at the HUMANE SOCIETY!!!

It was a GREAT, PERFECT, party for Jaden!

Afterwards, he said... "Mom, that was the best party I have had!"  YEA!!!  SUCCESS!!!

The kids got to do lots of activities including meeting one of the dogs!

 

 

2 of Jaden's friends have brother's that are Tyler's friends! 

 So--Tyler got to have 2 friends at the party too! 

 Steve tells Jaden if he smiles (smirks) like this....he can have anything he wants!

Sweet Boy!!

 

And Jaden was TOO excited that the Humane Society provided DOG plates and napkins!!

HA!!  It's the little things in life!!!

This was the PERFECT party for our Dog-lover little boy!!

Sweet Jaden!!!

It's time to BRAG on JADEN!!!!

Jaden wanted a new dog awhile ago, so he used his money to buy a dog.  (Well, mom and dad paid for a big portion  and said it could be his b-day present...in a few months!!) 

Fast Forward---now it's his birthday!  Most kids (including our other 2 kids) would most likely be disappointed with a present (dog) that they got months ago! 

But, NOT JADEN!!!

He got a few little things from us on his REAL BIRTHDAY---but was thrilled ...

To have his dog...from a few months ago!!!

AND THEN....there's more!!!!

Our kids are big into "re-gifting" to each other on their birthdays!  They find things in their room, wrap it up with tissue and bags, and gift it to each other!  Stinkin funny!!  

Jaden was THRILLED with his "new" shirt, book, animal, and who knows what else Tyler gave him!  He had lots of presents to open and was more than thrilled with his b-day!!!

I am grateful that all of my kids are appreciative of ANYTHING, but especially Jaden.  

They are easy to please and GRATEFUL!!!

For this I am grateful!  

Paige turns 7!!

Paige turns 7!!  

Paige wanted to have "lots of kids" at her party! 

So--a swim party with LOTS OF KIDS!!

We borrowed the "photo booth" from Leah Whelan!

  It was lots of fun to have each girls picture taken with Paige!

Our 3 goof-balls!

The giant turtle floaty was a HUGE hit (pun intended!)

 

Hot dogs, chips, pop, ice-cream sandwiches!!  What more does a 7 year old need?

Happy Happy Birthday Sweet Paige!! 

 We love you SOO much!  You are so fun and loving! 

 You are so spunky and full of love and energy!  You say what's on your mind---good or bad!  We are learning to be a "good friend" at all times!  You are a momma's girl and cannot get enough hugs and cuddles!  You love attention from your daddy as well.  You love to play with your brothers, but you love dance and singing too!  Your room is always a mess--but you will play in your room by yourself for hours...doing your hair, changing clothes, making a mess, and more!  You love your dresses, but you are loving your "sporty" clothes now too!