Great Grandpa Tom and Grandma Marion - pictures!

This past weekend the family traveled to my parents house to visit them, attend a wedding of a family friend, and get together with the kids' Great-Grandparents.

Chance trying to figure out Great-Grandpa Tom (I LOVE this picture!!)...
All smiles!
Cary and Grandpa David holding Brendan and Halle upside down...

Great-Grandma Marion with Halle and Kenedi...
and with the babies...


We had a great weekend!! :)

Brendan's Big Day!

Today marked Brendan's official first day of school.

We started the day early in order to catch his 7:05AM bus. He woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to begin the day.
Halle wasn't quite as spunky at first...
Nor was Chance...
While Cary got the other two kids up and ready to roll, I gave Brendan his breakfast. He ate like a champ, grabbed his shoes and backpack, and was ready to go long before the allotted time. We packed his backpack, picked out his snack, and had everything set out and ready to go the night before, so we had little more to do then simply walk out the door by 6:59 sharp.
A couple quick snapshots before we headed down the driveway to wait for the bus...

(yeah, I know, could we have picked a bigger backpack?!? The teacher's instruction was to choose a large backpack - so we did!)
We set out down the driveway to wait for the bus...
A precisely 7AM (5 minutes early!) the bus arrives and a very excited Brendan hops on board!
Away they go!
I dropped off the other two at daycare, then Cary and I met up at the school to greet Brendan as he got off the bus and headed for his Kindergarten classroom. Check out the expression on his face and his goofy pose - this shot is TOTAL Brendan - he couldn't contain his excitement!

He got into his room and found his cubby right away...
And after placing his backpack in his cubby, he went exploring...


He seemed a little bit nervous at first, and came over and talked to us for a few minutes as though comforted by us being there. After a few minutes, however, he grabbed a few cars and was right at home. His teacher seems to be a wonderful lady that loves her job and will help Brendan to have a wonderful year!

After school got over Brendan got onto a different bus and was supposed to be dropped off at the bank in which I work. I asked one of the other moms what time the bus usually dropped the kids off at the bank and she said she thought it was around 3:30 or 3:35. Around 3:17 I was on the phone with a customer and suddenly noticed the other two boys that usually come to the bank after school walk into the lobby. No Brendan. I walked into the lobby and after talking to one of the boys discovered that while Brendan had gotten on the correct bus, he hadn't gotten off at the correct place! I immediately called the bus garage and they radioed the bus driver who turned around and brought Brendan back to me. Thankfully, he arrived safe and sound, about 10 minutes late. Nothing like a bit of "first day" excitement to liven the place up! :)

Once he arrived at the correct place he was very excited to share with me the details of the bus ride - "Mom, did you know it takes 10 hours to get to school??!! We just keep turning and turning and stopping and stopping!" - and his excitement of the day - "Mom! Guess what? I got to chooooooose what kind of milk I wanted for lunch today! I chose chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!" Not to mention - "Mom, there are papers in my bag that you need to fill out so I can get a sticker. I need to take them back to school by Friday, but you better get them done tonight so we don't forget."

What a day! :)

Labor Day Weekend

Can you believe it??!! Can you believe that summer is already "over"? Labor Day weekend - crazy! We took advantage of our three-day weekend with a trip to a local resort. We brought the camper, and later in the weekend Cary went home and picked up the boat and the dune buggy. It was a gorgeous weekend - one of the warmest we've had the entire summer - and we made sure to make the most of it.

Here, Cary helps Halle get up to speed on her bike, while Brendan pedals up ahead...

Chance and I stayed back and held down the fort...


We spent a lot of time at the playground...

(this is one of my new favorite pictures!)
And Brendan even got a little time to practice riding without training wheels!

We hit the beach -
and the lake...

Chance was a total maniac - he crawled everywhere in the sand and had a total blast after getting tired of being in the lake (which was chilly!). Here Halle and Brendan are making their way up out of the water, to their towels, while Chance decides he wants to go back in and crawls like a madman towards the lake... Chance is now a standing daredevil - he stands, spins, holds on with one hand, walks while holding onto the sides, drops down and stands back up, all the while loving every minute of it!

Next up - KINDERGARTEN! Brendan officially starts school tomorrow - the big yellow school bus is picking him up at our home. Cary and I plan to meet the bus at the school to help him get settled into his classroom. I'll update the site with pictures as soon as I can! :)

Holy Cow! Time for the Kindergarten Open House!

This past Thursday, August 28th, Brendan and I attended his Kindergarten Open House. We were able to meet his teacher, see his classroom, bring his school supplies, and help Brendan to be more comfortable for his upcoming "First Day" tomorrow!

Here are a few pictures from Thursday evening. First - Brendan standing outside the school holding some of his many school supplies...

He found his name, on an apple outside of his teacher's classroom, right away!

His teacher's classroom - it's bright and cheery and fun. I was very impressed by the organization, colors, and "fun" look of the classroom. I'm sure he'll have a great year!

A picture in front of his cubby - we filled it almost to the top with all of his supplies!

The "Quiet Corner" of the classroom - doesn't it look like a fun class?! :)

Various Pictures

Here are a few pictures of Chance doing his recent favorite thing...standing. He pulls himself up on anything and everything, and is getting more and more confident.

Here are a few pics of the three amigos in the bathtub...

And another one of Mr. Chance...
And because I talk about it, but many people never see it - here are a few pictures of where I work. First, a picture of my office - it's not a very good pic as I snapped it quickly before my morning meeting...Several shots of the lobby - check out all the animals! The owner of the bank, and his son, love to hunt and have gone on several trips across the world to hunt various animals...

This is a cape buffalo, mounted on a stand complete with a zebra skin accent...

This is the view into the lobby from my office...

Among the many animals is a polar bear - the owner of the bank shot this bear with a bow and arrow several years ago while on a hunting excursion to the North Pole. My office is directly behind the bear (to the very left in this shot), which means that yes, I do have a view of a bear butt all day every day. At least it's a rather unique rear!