First Day of 6th Grade!!!

I have no pictures.

 

I asked if I could take his picture, and he rolled his eyes and said that it was nothing to celebrate.

 

My 6th grader told me that he didn't want me to take the day off. 

 

Said I should use it for something more "fun". 

 

(I followed his advice, and took the Monday before the first day off to spend with the boys).

 

He's way to practical. 

 

Even school shopping, he was careful to select only what he needed... and find the sales.

 

His favorite part of the whole ordeal was that I let him pick out a new pair of Nikes. 

 

So, since there are no pictures of him as a new 6th grader...

 

Here is his kindergarten picture.

 

 

 

Backyard Sleepover

Grandma Joycee came to visit today, and she brought her own lodgings... and the boys thought it would be awesome to have a sleep over with her... in the backyard!

 

They helped her set up the tent, found their sleeping bags, a few flashlights, and hit the hay early.

 

 

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and decided to rattle the night a bit.

 

Evan came in before midnight, but Ryan made it until 5am. 

 

It was still an adventure, and they both enjoyed themselves... even with the wind howling!



 

Turtle Power

Ryan LOVES the Ninja Turtles, so when we saw this hoodie while school shopping, we had to try it on.

 

They didn't have his size, but we had to at least take a picture!  

Fuzzy be gone!

I've never really had a problem with my eyesight.  When I was much younger, I noticed that sometimes I had trouble pulling text into focus... esp when I was tired.  I had an eye exam, and they told me I had astigmatism.  Nothing to worry about.

Well, lately,I've noticed after a day at work, the street signs I could read just fine in the morning were blurry.... oh, and the headaches.  Every day... starting earlier and earlier in the day.

So, I gave in, and made another eye appointment.

This eye doctor was a lot more chatty, and explained a lot more... like how that minor astigmatism when I was twenty-something... is more than a little worse.  My eyesight is as good as ever, but those blurry spells are caused by eyestrain... which is compounded 100 times over thanks to my eyes overworking themselves to focus all day.

So, at mid-thirties, I have purchased my first pair of glasses... well, the first pair that don't have dark lens!!

Ryan says I look "weird" and that I look like my sister, Sara.  Mark hasn't really commented, and Evan is still in Montana.

As far as how I feel about them, who knew!!!!  I can't believe how much crisper everything is!!  I told Mark the ride home was "trippy"... I could see all of these textures on things that normally looked "flat"... now I realize how out of focus everything was!!  It's crazy!

What Ever Makes Him Smile

My dear friend Joanne went to Disneyland last month and brought Ryan back a little prize.

She said I had to make him cookies with it.... but so far, he's been just been enjoying using it to coral his favorite snacks!!


And since it makes him smile and giggle, I'm all for it!!

So, I had made up my mind...

To stop blogging. 


It's a lot of work!  And I felt pressure to get posts up, even when I didn't have anything to say.


So I just stopped.


And then, this weekend, I was looking for a story about a picture that I wanted to go in one of the boys' scrapbooks, and I started looking back. 


And I remembered why I was blogging... It wasn't for any of you, it was for me.  I had somehow forgotten that. 


This is where I put the stories I want to remember.  This is where I document how I feel at the moment... so that when I look back a few years later, I remember the emotion of the story.  Not a journal story... the story I want to tell others.


So, it's time to do some dusting, and start blogging again.

It's all fun and games...

Until the ambulance shows up!

And yes, that is the lesson my boys learned on the 4th this year!!

I should probably mention that the ambulance didn't come for us...

But before I explain... here are some fun pictures from the pyrotechnics.... First, the boys had a few to light at the house.

Ryan LOVES the "pooping dogs"... it's all he talks about.  He insisted his uncles purchase them...

 Here, Evan is using his new track skills as he lights a firework and prepares for a very quick getaway!

They also found this chicken that lays an "egg'.... which was actually just a balloon, but was probably the funniest firework I have ever seen!!

And THEN, went to the main event... the Parking Lot.

Yes, the main event in Great Falls is in a parking lot.  Most of the city gathers in this one area to watch the city show AND light off all the personal fireworks.

There is so much going on, it's hard to keep track... and the sulfur smoke is thicker than pea soup.... but it's a blast!

And it lasts for hours!!   A few hours in though, some people a few rows away used a launch tube that was too hot, and the firework exploded VERY close to the ground... some of the shrapnel must have hit someone, because not long after the ambulance pulled up.  Ryan, at that point, finally understood all the warnings the adults had been providing, and got a little freaked out.

The two of us went home, but Evan got to stay with the Uncles for a few more hours of fun.

Adventure Day

I don't take a lot of days off work... but when I do, it's normally so I can do something fun with my buggies.

Evan used to call them "Breaks", Ryan calls them ADVENTURES.

Friday was Evan's last day "off" track, so it warranted something FUN..

First on the list was one of their favorites... Breakfast at a restaurant.

This is their favorite because they get to eat BACON.  I'm sure I could save some money and just cook them piles and piles of bacon, but would require me cleaning up after cooking the bacon, so I like the eating out part more.    

Next up... 3D Lego Movie.

Now, obviously, my boys LOVE legos.  So, duh, a movie about legos is gonna be a hit.

It was pretty campy, Ryan missed that fact, but Evan got it.  Ryan just thought it was funny.  

After the movie, we ran a few FUN errands... like a trip to the store to buy valentines, the library, etc. 

Then it was home for a CHORE FREE afternoon... that was Evan's request.  

Since it was rainy and cold, we stayed in, watched movies, read stories and just enjoyed each other.  Our favorite type of adventure!