One tired kid

Sam loves kindergarten but is exhausted when he gets home. The bus comes at 7:40am and he gets home just before 3pm. This afternoon when he got home he played quietly for a while, but didn't want anyone to talk to him. I have never seen him lay on the couch except once when he had the flu, so was surprised when he curled up here tonight and waited for dinner. Hoping he builds more stamina as we move through the next few weeks.

Bus Stop

This monkey has been missing his brother now that school has started. Here he is waiting for Sam to get off of the bus. We are keeping busy with preschool, story time at the library, zoo, playdates, bike riding, and trips to the park. The newest big news with Ben is that he is now potty trained... YAY!

Playing with cousins...

Photos

Saturday it was picture day out at the soccer field. It was hilarious watching the coaches and photographer try and organize a team of 5 and 6 year olds. There was a lot of goofing around, grass picking, getting out of order and just plain chaos.

They finally pulled it together and did it!

75th Anniversary

In honor of its 75th anniversary celebration, the School of Business at University of Portland recognized 75 significant business alumni and inducted 8 visionary leaders into its inaugural hall of fame. Guess who was one of the significant 75?

Last night there were about 800 people at the anniversary dinner including several of Brian's students. A lot of them went out of their way to come over and talk to him and introduce them to their parents and friends. It was obvious how many of them look up to him and view him as a mentor. I am so proud of my husband for all of his hard work and dedication to the University, students, community and family.

Ben starts Preschool

Today was Ben's first day of school. He was so excited to go!

Painting and the water table were his favorite activities today. Our old neighbor and friend is one of Ben's teachers, so it will be fun to see her each week.

He loved it!

First Game

This afternoon Sam had his first soccer game. Of course it had to be a 95 degree day and Brian was playing in a golf tournament so I had both boys. As we rushed from the car to the field I was carrying all of our stuff plus Ben on my back while Sam trailed behind whining about how hot he was. Hmmm this was going to be fun. Mom saved the day by showing up and taking Ben on an errand so he didn't have to sit in the heat and watch the whole game.

At first our team had no clue what was going on -- we haven't had the most productive of practices. After seeing the other team score SEVERAL goals they started getting the hang of it. Sam kicked the ball and it was so close... and then his buddy Eli tapped it in! Woo hoo!

A few minutes later Sam took the ball down the field and scored! He was so thrilled! He turned around, threw his arms up in the air and had a huge smile. He is still talking about it tonight. :-)

We made it through the week

Sam started all day Kindergarten Tuesday -- so many changes! New school, friends, teacher. I can see how it would be overwhelming for the littlest ones - being surrounded by all of these big kids and making the adjustment with everything so new! He seemed to really enjoy school but did fear riding the bus home. The first day he had a hard time getting on that big bus with 80 other kids...but by day 2 he was doing much better. There are some neighborhood kids on the same bus so that helps - as well as a couple of kids from his class. Every day he gets off of the bus and says he had fun at school - and of course recess is his favorite part of the day! He has been taking naps for 5 years - and I should have been easing him into this new schedule. He is exhausted! Yesterday I found him laying in bed twice before dinner.

I have become one of those moms - I am now part of the club. This week Sam brought home envelopes for PTA donations, volunteer sign up sheets, entertainment books for sale etc. Thursday night was the back to school picnic and today Sam has his very first ever soccer game. Let the craziness begin!

8 years ago today

I sat frozen on my couch in Arizona watching... wondering if it was a dream. I woke Brian up and we watched the second plane hit and both towers fall. Still don't have words.

First Day

I put my baby on the bus today... off to kindergarten. Crazy how fast time goes! He woke up at the crack of dawn all summer and today -- the first day of school I had to wake him up at 7. Here he is at the bus stop... he was very excited to see the bus coming down the hill. Not so excited when I left him in the classroom and he realized he would be gone for 7 hours and riding the bus home this afternoon. The tears started and he hung on to my neck for dear life. Hoping he has a great day!

Party!

Tonight we hosted the first annual Back to School Celebration. We thought it would a fun way to get the kids excited about school starting next week, and ease Sam's fears about going to a new school, riding the bus etc. Mom and I made sparkly crowns for all of the cousins and we sat at our dining table which only happens for very special occasions!

The kids loved the crowns, fancy table and drinking out of wine glasses.

The kids were all wound up, had a dance party and ran wild. It was so fun to see their excitement and we will for sure continue this tradition!

Mom made these super cute flowers to hang from the lights.

Ben checking out the crowns.

Scooters

Before we left for Sunriver, Mom and Dad surprised the cousins with scooters... the boys seem to think riding at full speed through the house is going to fly with me - and it did for a while but now it's time to move it on outside! They rode over a mile yesterday with Brian - up through both parks and back. Ben does his best to keep up and will NOT let you help!

Love this dahlia in our front yard...

Cupcakes

I had friends over last night and made peach cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting. They were a hit! The recipe came from Smitten Kitchen.

Forts and Friends

The boys had a great time playing with my friend Julia's 4 kids this morning. They found every blanket, pillow, basket and box we owned and built forts for everyone!

Ink

The kids were working on a birthday card Sunday while I was upstairs getting ready for the party. Ben was very pleased with his art work - and had silver ink everywhere! Gotta love stamps.