breakfast of champions

While Eli and I were eating cereal and chocolate chip pancakes, Noah chose frozen blueberries, frozen peas (strange, I know, but I couldn't refuse) and a banana.

More pictures

The boys played at their favorite park for over 2 hours this afternoon.
Much of this time was spent climbing trees
which may have been the cause of the hole in Noah's BRAND NEW pair of jeans!

Fall Festival

Funny by Noah

After preschool yesterday, Noah was telling me about something he did with one of the teachers.

Me: Which teacher was helping you (there are 3-4 in the room)?
Noah: I don't know.
Me: Was it Mrs. Ystebo (the lead teacher)?
Noah: No. She had silver hair.
Me: Was it Mrs. Nelson (one of two gray haired teachers I've seen there)?
Noah: No.
Me: Was it Mrs. Grosz (pronounced Gross)?
Noah: She didn't look gross.

Eli's BFF

Eli was soooo excited when I told him on Wednesday that Jake would be coming to visit for the weekend. Chad's cousin got married in town on Saturday, so they decided to make the trip from Iowa. They also brought along their newest addition.

MEET 3 week old AVERY
Eli wanted to keep her.

Chase, Jake, Eli and Noah with baby Avery.

Thanks for coming guys! We had a great time!

stolen from Jen's blog

Lindsay's Wedding

I took two handsome dates to my cousin's wedding last night. Drew and Katelynn were the Ring Bearer and Flower Girl. They were so cute! Drew changed his clothes before the reception, and I bribed him with a dollar to put his tux back on for the dance.
At one point I was dancing with Eli and lost sight of Noah. When I saw him a few minutes later, his face was covered with chocolate. He had been under the head table eating hershey's kisses.

waiting to dance

I'm not sure who had more fun dancing...the kids or Grandpa Steve!
The next family wedding is in May. That means I have all winter to teach the boys The Electric Slide!

first day of preschool

The big map at preschool is a hit! We had to stop and look at it every day last year!
Ella told me all about their first day today. I'm sure these two won't cause any trouble!
After Kindergarten and Preschool, we had a picnic at the park. What a great day!

First Day of Kindergarten

I thought it would be fun to walk, so Ella and Noah rode in the wagon, and Eli and Jack tried to avoid puddles. I was really second guessing myself by the time we got to school. However, a teacher walked in behind us and said "I wish the school kids walked this good", so that made me feel better!
Eli was VERY excited for school. He was not excited about my camera!
I was greeted with this sad little face after school. Someone REALLY wanted to ride the bus home.
Later he told us that school was great: they sat at circle time for a LONG TIME, Mrs. Henning showed them around the room, they got to drink milk from a carton without a straw, and the boy named Owen who has glasses like Noah actually has black circle glasses, not oval like Noah.
Then, he was telling me the names of the kids, and he said there is an Allison which kinda sounds like Allosaurus. I said, "Don't tell her that". He said, "I tried to tell Mrs. Henning, but she didn't hear me".
How's that for day one?

And so it begins....

We needed to be in two places at one time today.

The boys both had orientation this morning. Joel took Eli to Kindergarten while I took Noah to Preschool. The day was a crazy one at our house, but it went much better than I anticipated it would!
Eli said Kindergarten was "great", and Noah did not want to leave Preschool!!! They both insisted on wearing "pocket shirts".

Too much fun!

Krista and I spent Saturday night out with our cousin Lindsay for her bachelorette party. We were thinking that we're a little too old to participate, but I'm glad we decided to go!

Labor Day Weekend

It was our last lake weekend of the summer, and thankfully, we had great weather!

Highlights included:
spending time with cousins
fishing
watching the sun set
exploring the woods
enjoying a campfire in the woods
turning the slide into a water slide
having a water fight with Grandma

and playing with the puppies next door.

The Pond

I took the kids for a walk to the pond today. This will probably be the last morning we'll be able to do this for a while! Next week the craziness starts. Ella and Noah have preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jack has preschool on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Eli will have morning kindergarten. Unfortunately Eli's school starts and ends a half hour before preschool does, and since the schools are less than a mile apart, I'm not really sure how this is going to work....but it will. (Wow. Mrs. Strubble is frowning upon me after that run on sentance!)

dilemma

So, do I buy him thin socks that he has no prayer of ever being able to put on by himself, or do I go with the thicker socks he can manage but don't fit as well in his brand new size 10 extra wide stride rite shoes?