Last Day of First Grade

My babies are KIDS. Not "little boys". Just plain ol' BOYS. Quinn and Colby graduated from first grade today, and are now officially 2nd graders. How did that happen? I noticed that both boys got awards from their teacher, Quinn for "Best Penmanship" and Colby for being "Kind-hearted". Good job boys! Quinn called Colby on the carpet, though, when he pushed ahead of Quinn getting into the car. "That's not very kindhearted Colby."


We celebrated the survival completion of the school year with ice cream all around. Bring on SUMMER!!!!

Remembering......

Went to visit Aunt Dorothy's grave today, as well as Rob's grandparents and uncle.  We sure do miss you, Aunt Dorothy. 



The LOOOOONNNNNGGG Trip Home

See, I should've known better than to brag up Frontier Airlines on my trip out.  Really.  Cursed myself.  Because the way home?  Not so good.  The first leg was again great, although the boys were somewhat disappointed not to have free TV like we had on the way out.  I promised them that I would spring for TV on the next leg of the journey, since it was to be the longest , but apparently we got put on the "old" type airplane.  The kind with no leg room, and no t.v.'s.  The kind that makes travelling with kids miserable.  We had two 30 minute layovers scheduled on this trip home, but I wasn't too worried, since the way out went so smoothely.  HA.  Old airplane #2, with no t.v.'s, and no leg room, ALSO had a flat tire.  Which took 30 minutes to repair.  I buzzed the stewardess once we were finally up in the air, and she assured me that the next flight would surely wait for us, given that it was the last flight of the day, and there was no reason NOT to wait a few minutes.  Half the plane was in the same situation we were, apparently.  Right before landing, however, this same stewardess came on the intercom to say that NO ONE'S planes were waiting, with the exception of one.  And would we all please let those people off first?  Because their connecting flight was going to be nice and wait?  UGH.  I grabbed the kids by the hand, and we high-tailed it off that plane as fast as we could, leaving the stroller behind, because WHO CARES, IT'S A $14 UMBRELLA STROLLER.  We made it to our next gait in 3 minutes flat, the plane was still there!  We had made it!! Except..... the door was already shut.  And they weren't about to open it for a single mom with three small children.  You have got to be kidding me.  I could SEE the plane!!  We were SO CLOSE!  So, the kids and I wandered around the airport, looking for SOMEONE to help us, and grabbed the first person we could find (which took some doing.  Apparently, there's no one assigned to help half a plane worth of passengers when they miss their connecting flights).  She politely informed me that we could fly home on the next available flight.... two days away.  Uhhhhhhh.  WHAT am I going to do in Milwaukee in a hotel room with no luggage and no car, with three small children for TWO DAYS???  So, I did what I always seem to do in impossible situations... I called my father-in-law and begged him to come rescue us.  Apparently, we could get as close as Appleton the next day, so we took that, and Al graciously, magnanimously, heroically, agreed to come pick us up at the Appleton airport.  By this time, it was about 11 pm, and the kids I went down to baggage claim to wait for our hotel shuttle.  There were about 7 other people there waiting as well, and when our van came, they all rushed in, leaving the kids and I standing there with no room.  The driver said "go ahead and squish in."  The boys had tried, and the other (adult) passengers told them to get out.  Thanks alot, you shining examples of decency.  Leave the mom with three small children to wait longer in the middle of the night.  UGH.  The driver felt horrible about the other passenger's behavior, and came back as soon as she could.  By the time we got to the hotel, we were booked in the VERY LAST ROOM available.  It was well after midnight before we all got to sleep - sans PJ's or toothbrushes, because our luggage had been left behind.   My poor father-in-law drove 500 miles in one day to rescue us.  I'm nominating him for sainthood. 

Flying just really is not fun anymore. 

Enjoying Stanwood

We were able to spend some time at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jack's beautiful home in Stanwood.  The kids enjoyed playing soccer with Aunt Kathy, Grandma Betty, and Cooper, the world's most adorable dog (no offense, Sammy and Morgan.  He just IS.)  We couldn't seem to keep the boys out of the trees for long - they're in an obsessive tree-climbing phase, which I'm sure is going to end with a trip to the hospital or a funeral.  Altitude seems to be their primary goal, and my boys and heights just don't seem to mesh well (broken arms, multiple bouts with stitches.... just not a good thing).  When I mentioned that fact to him, Quinn told me "But MOM!  We've never fallen out of a TREE before!"  Oh, well, then, I won't worry so much.  NOT.

Overall, our time on the coast was just fabulous, and it was so good to spend some time with family that we rarely get to see!! 

Reagan and her godmother, enjoying some quiet time. 

A trip to the West

Mom, Dad, I and the kids packed up to head to the coast for a quick visit with Aunt Pat/Uncle Ed and Aunt Kathy/Uncle Jack!  The kids were troopers, handling the six hour car ride well, even after the recent long plane ride.  It was so nice getting to spend time with both of my aunts!!  They both thoroughly spoiled us ;) 

The paparazzi got a little carried away at the park, so bear with us.

I was waiting for Colby to come down the slide, but this is all that arrived.  Hee Hee ;)  He was actually a whole climbing structure away at the time.

Armed Forces Torchlight Parade

After a day spent at my continuing education course, Rene and I met up with the rest of the fam for a picnic, and then took the kids to the Torchlight Armed Forces Day Parade!  The kids did great... for awhile.  We left after 2.5 hours, and there was WELL over an hour left of the parade.  That's one long bugger.  Still - thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!!

Swimming with the Fam

While I was stuck indoors at a continuing ed course.  Grandma and Aunt Kelli took the kids to a local pool to go swimming!!  Looks like mom missed out on the fun ;)

Hangin' at the Lake

Spent the day hanging out at Silver Lake with Mom and Dad.  Elle and Rick, Kel and Lar, and Lar's family joined us in the evening for a barbecue!  Lots of people, lots of fun.  Nothing better than a beautiful day at the lake with family and friends.