The first day of the first grade.....

We woke up on a beautiful August morning and prepared to send out Connor to first grade.  My heart was busting...I barely slept the night before, it was a mix of excitement and sadness.  How can it be that my little Connor could be ready for the first grade?

The three oldest all donned their back packs for the walk out the lane.

Connor didn't fuss at all...as a matter of face he was pretty excited at the prospect of heading to first grade.  He took it all in stride.  I bit the inside of my mouth frequently...so i wouldn't cry in front of him.

Look at this crew.   Before you know it, this will be reality.  All three heading off to school together.  Oh, my.

Connor even posed - numerous times - before the bus got to our house.  He even asked me if I wanted to get a picture of him at the end of the lane.  He really is maturing, isn't he?

He comes bus 21!

Our bus driver is so accomodating, he let connor stand in the door way while I snapped a few more pictures.

These guys wanted to ride along with Connor.  They stood and waved until the bus was out of sight!

(Sawyer even walked up to the bus steps and wrapped his arms around Connors legs to give him a hug and a kiss before he left.  Awww.

There goes big yellow.

Around 4 pm, Grandma showed up to see how the first day of school went.  Connor wasn't home and we weren't exactly sure when to expect him.  I walked out to the end of the lane around 4:10.  I waited....and waited...and waited.  Grandma went back inside to get Sawyer up from his nap.  Then we all waited some more.

The bus finally came around 4:40.

Good thing one of my friends warned me that the first week is long!

We were so excited to get our little dude off the bus.  Yeah!

First day down...280 left to go?

So long sweet summer...

Can you believe it....summer is already over.
Wow.

It was great.

We had so much fun.

I wish I did a better job of writing things down...we read books, we went to the library, we went to the beach, we went to Aunt Lori's pool...

we wrapped it all up....with a trip to Dutch Wonderland....

The boys had a great time.  We rode so many rides, the weather was great...we had so much fun.  (sawyer was okay on the carousel...but only if I had a hand on him..see the trepidation on his face, I had let go of him to take the picture.)

Connor loved it! 

Again, Jackson rocked the house.  He rode so many rides.  What a champ.

Then there's this little fella, what a cutie.  He was sooo good.  Daddy held onto him on the carousel.  For the most part he just sat in the stroller and smiled.

Can you see why I love these boys so much.  Oh, dear.

Phillie Phever

This was the day we'd looked forward to ALL summer.

August 26th.

My dad's birthday....

and run the bases day at the Phillies.

I think Connor asked about it 852 times from the time we got the tickets until it was finally time to go...

To say he was excited would be an understatement.

I sent Craig with the camera and instructions to take a bunch of pictures...and then when he thought he took enough, to take 5 more.

He did.

Connor loved this game.  He kept trying to explain it to me.  I understood once I saw the picture.  It is so right up his alley.

PopPop and Connor.  This is the view from the seats that they had for the season.  Pretty cool.  The big screen is on the top left.

Craig and Connor.

After the game, they waited in line for about 45 minutes to run the bases.  They started outside the stadium, came in through a tunnel, then onto the field.

We weren't sure if Connor would actually run the bases...or if he would get overwhelmed and not want to do it.  Well, he did it. 

As Craig said...He SMOKED the bases.  I was so proud.  They said it was pretty cool to watch him!

Afterwards, they returned to their seats for another picture.

What a cute pair!

When they finally got home, the boys were eager to have everyone home.  (Jackson sooo wanted to go along, but had fun with Mommy at home instead.)

I had made a nice dinner...and the boys and I made a birthday cake for PopPop.  Connor kept asking how old my dad was...66 is a big number.

Happy Birthday PopPop. 

What a day!

An after dinner show

A few weeks ago we invited Pop Pop over for dinner. (The left overs of our birthday meal with Grandma)  I also invited Grandma to come...she was feeling down because Craig's Grandfather was in the hospital.  We all enjoyed a nice dinner...but it was the after dinner show that really took the spotlight.

Connor was in charge...no surprise...he orchestrated a little band action.

The boys grabbed two empty beer bottles, a couple of pencils, an empty aluminum can...and they went to town.  it was really too cute.  They even introduced the act..."ladies and gentlemen...please take your seats, the show is about to begin."  HA!

I know the picture isn't good...and I accidentally deleted a bunch of others...bummer...but it was a great night.  Sawyer really got into it too.  We were all tickled to be in the audience.  At one point, connor said...hey, don't you want to grab the video camera.  So we did.  If I knew how to post the tape I would.  (I should learn).  Anyway, I think it really made Grandma's day...mine too.

This is Jackson...he was grinning from ear to ear!  So proud of himself!

So cute!

Re-Match

We celebrate Grandma's birthday in the beginning of August.  We invited the entire family for a meal at our house.  We did salmon on the grill with a warm spinach salad...garlic break and potatoes.  The icing on the cake...literally...was the chocolate peanut butter birthday cake that Aunt Lynn provided.  Yum.

So after we all finished eating...we headed outside for some r and r....

well, not exactly...

We actually got a little water balloon fight started. 

When everybody headed out to play, I filled a few water balloons in the kitchen with the hopes of some small paybacks.  Well....

Let's just say, Grandma ended up damp around the edges....and Connor is busily plotting his next move!

Sam

After a long and wonderful life, we said good-bye to Sam at the end of June.

We knew the end was coming.  Sam was having difficulty getting up and moving around.  Even though his food bowl was filled frequently by the boys, he couldn't keep weight on.  A few weeks ago, Craig had to jump into the pond after him.  After years of swimming and diving to retrieve rocks, Sammy just couldn't do it anymore.

Boy, did our guys love him.  He showed up as a stray...and just never left.  (He even pooped in the field so we didn't have to clean it up!)

We couldn't have gotten a better dog if we'd paid top dollar.

He was loyal to the end.

Connor took it the hardest, I think he was the only one who knew what was going on.

We told him Same would fall asleep..and when he woke up he'd be in doggy heaven where he could run, and chase rabbits, and swim in the pond.

Connor sobbed.

Then he asked if he could watch Sam disappear and go to heaven...

I wasn't ready for that one.

We took a few minutes to say good bye. 

As a mom, I never worried about the boys with Sam.  They could pull his ears, grab his tail, lay on his back legs...he never minded it.  He would just get up and walk away when he'd had enough....

Our friend and vet Jeff came over.  He took a few pictures of our last few moments as a family.  After we said our last good byes, he and Craig took Sam.  Even Craig had some tears in his eyes. 

It is hard to look at these pictures.  I pray Sam is out of pain...and enjoying doggy heaven. 

We've told the boys we will get a new dog...we're just not quite ready.  Connor keeps asking to go to the animal shelter.  He wants two dogs...both yellow labs, both named Sam...so they can have puppies.  

We'll name them...Sam.

We miss you Sammy.

Birthday-palooza

So, we drive 7 hours home from the beach...the boys wake up...and Connor is eager to open his birthday gifts....

We tried not to disappoint.  About a month ago Craig ordered a wii from a points catalog we had been saving up for.

So, we got him a Sonic racing game...it came with wii sports and music!

We think it was a hit.

On Sunday, July 4th...we had our families over for a birthday/4th celebration.

It was a nice evening and we ate outside in the shade.

We had lots of good stuff to eat...Connor's request was corn on the cob!

The kids had a great time on the swing set.

What cute cousins!

To cool off a little, Craig made water balloons...

So we hosted a party...and a water balloon fight broke out....
Sawyer was armed and dangerous!

Aunt Lynn got nailed...

and was eager to return the favor!

Lindsey and Seth came prepared with bathing suits.

The birthday boy gots lots of nice gifts.  He was tickled pink.

Thank you all!

I made an ice cream cake...my first ever.

It was mint chocolate chip with fudge and chocolate cookie crumbs!

YUM

Then we did some fireworks.

(Note the chocolate faces...they really like the cake!)

Jackson wasn't so sure about the sparklers.  He didn't want to get burned.

So sweet! Jackson and Seth are only 7 months apart.  Seth will start Kindergarten this year, but Jackson has to wait another year since his birthday is in November.

The fireworks extravaganza....

yep, that's my husband using a torch to light fireworks.  Safety first, right!

Sawyer got some help from my dad...

an added bonus...Sawyer was so tired the other day.....he fell asleep in front of the computer...while sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen.  (I was using the computer to get a recipe.)