Underwater Disposable Camera

Mollee, Tavis, CappsCapps Capps and Daegan
Mollee laying on the bottomMac jumping in!!Daeganwith the Harris cousins
Do you know how hard it is to stay underwater while trying to take a picture? I didn't either, until now!

Water Balloon Ambush

So, I found a package of water balloons today and decided it would be fun to fill them for the kids. Then I thought an ambush sounded better.

We filled all the balloons, and I called the Harris cousins down to "show them something" andwhen they pulled in the driveway, the kids ATTACKED!It was chaotic fun that didn't last long, but the kids thought it was hilarious. Not sure the time it took to fill up the balloons was worth the few minutes of glee, but I think it was?Of course, the Harris' put up a good fight when they spotted the water balloon bucket!
Oh, Aunt Gretchen!!!

What the beginning of school will bring...

a few mommy predictions.

Mollee will love the social world of school, but will quickly grow tired of homework. She will miss playing with dolls and being in the world of make-believe (I'm so thrilled that in a world where girls grow up too fast, my Moo still loves to play), but she will mature a lot this year, maybe more than I'd like? Her friendships will grow stronger and she will be wiser in choices. She will continue to bug me to find out when she can wear make-up. She will enjoy her year as "oldest class in the school" before she heads off to junior high.

Tavis also will enjoy getting back to the social world, but will miss the hours a day he has gotten to sit on the couch with his blanket reading a book. He'll also miss the constant bike riding and playing that summer allows. He will quickly learn that 4th grade is 'a whole new ballgame' as far as homework is concerned and he will learn to get his work done in a timely manner - I've got my fingers crossed whether or not that homework will get turned in. He will struggle with math, but will thrive with his reading. He will probably charm, yet another teacher.

Daegan will be glad to be with friends, but will miss building Legos and playing Xbox. He will thrive on all the learning, soak up a lot of knowledge and will progress by leaps and bounds in his reading. He will master the times table, but will struggle with spelling. He will probably be an over all good student, but may get into trouble for talking during class this year with his best friend and his cousin in his class. He also may get to have strep approximately five times this year.

Capps will be excited to have Goodwin and Aubrey in his class, but it will take him awhile to warm-up to a new classroom and a new teacher. He will enjoy the structure of his days and will learn their schedule quickly (what day is PE, what day is Music, etc), but he will miss the freedom of walking around the house and being bored. He will progress a lot in reading and will get to go to the Discovery Room, but he will have to learn social smarts.

Mac will get to enjoy one more year at home with Mommy. He won't like Tuesdays and Thursdays when David is around, but he will again be Mommy's best side-kick for errands. He will probably play fine in his room while Mommy gets her work done and will love some extra attention. He will grow out of alot of the clothes he's been wearing and he might even get his 4-year old picture made before he turns 5.

Playground #5

I had to make it to one more playground this summer. There were a few new-to-us ones I wanted to make it to, but we went to an old favorite anyway! Who doesn't like a playground with an old train to play on?

And it was such a beautiful day! With a breeze!!!!Mollee may or may not have been responsible for the broken tire swing?

Of course, when the kiddos "disappeared" I found them throwing rocks at the creek.and my son that doesn't like to touch messy food, was playing in the dirt - does that make sense to anyone out there?And they kept having airplane races around the playground!
Mollee doing carwheels!
The kids with silly smiles at the train!
Proof that I was there
Jason was working in the area and was able to come hang out at lunchtime, so we walked over the the War Memorial.
It was a glorious day!
Wish you could see how massive this flag is?! I love it!!!!

Meet the Teachers!!

Capps, 1st grade, Mrs. Farlett Daegan, 2nd grade, Mrs. Bates (don't worry Mr. Bel, Daegan's hair will not be against code of 'no extreme hairdo' when school time comes)

Tavis, 4th grade, Mrs. LevengerMollee, 5th grade, Mrs. GordonWe also had Luke with us because his parents are out of town!

*School Supply update: messed up on Tavis' graph paper, needed to be in a spiral notebook, not just loose paper!

And not to harp on the color thing - but look what outfit these kids picked out!

School Supply Personalities

Tomorrow is "Meet Your Teacher" Day! I think in Jr. High and High School they call it "Locker Day"?

I've been buying things I knew we needed and throwing it on the school table. Today, I finally pulled everything out, checked off what we had and we filled everyone's book bag. (Pat myself on my back - I was only lacking one jumbo glue stick for Capps)

As I was going through everything with the kids, I thought it was funny and interesting how their personalities show through their school supplies. I wonder if the teachers ever take note of this?

Mollee, always wants blue! Her book bag she had last year (we only get new ones for kindergarten and 4th grade) is blue and green. Her notebooks are blue camo, blue/pink tie dye and a puppy dog. I was pleasantly surprised she picked a pink lunchbox, but it does have the blue highlights. Tavis, although he is going in 4th grade, we are waiting to get him a book bag. He has struggled to keep track of things and since he never brings home books, if he has a good first semester, he will get a new book bag for second semester. He always picks blue or orange, but for some reason, he is all blue this year! His notebooks are as plain as can be, which is no shock (he is boring like his Dad ;) ). I did get him a lunchbox this year (last year I refused since he has gone through so many lunchboxes, he had to use Daegan's from the previous year - cruel, I know), but he just picked blue!

Daegan, my boy!!!! Colorful is key for him. And he usually goes for the color red and/or rainbow. His backpack is from kindergarten, but I know we'll get a few more years out of it. He had to have the maze notebook and he had to have the tie dye one!!! He also picked a Star Wars lunchbox (no surprise), but I thought it was interesting that it had red piping on it.Capps, oh creature of habit! His color is always green. And it just so happens that Green Lantern is the big super hero of the year (although last year we found a green lunchbox with Toy Story?). I don't do a lot of school shopping with the kids, but in kindergarten, they get to pick out their book bag (from LLBean online) and each year they get to pick their notebooks and a lunchbox. Capps usually struggles to make a decision (this is also no surprise, he still has his birthday $ because we've been out to shop a few times and he just can't decide!!!). We went to Target, Toys R Us, and Wal-Mart to find the perfect lunchbox. Then we looked online to see if there was anything else out there. He ended up with this one that he had picked out at Target the first 30 seconds of shopping. Always go with your first instincts!The kids may have been brainwashed into these color picks? As babies they each had a color that I used for everything - sippy cups, diaper bags, even clothing for the boys since they all wear about the same size, etc. All except Mollee, I always did purple for her, but now she wants all blue! We still use these colors for various things and it is the color each kid is always drawn to. Mollee - purple or blue, Tavis - orange or blue, Daegan - ALWAYS red, Capps - ALWAYS green and Mac - hmmm, he just gets the leftovers! Poor kid!

And as we gear up for football, Tavis is a Tennesee fan, Daegan is a Georgia fan, and Capps is a Green Bay Packers fan (I can't convince him that is a different league of football). And Mollee is a smart BAMA girl! And Mac, I have no idea! Again, poor kid!

New Shoes!

We don't always do Stride Rite shoes, but if I can get a good deal, it is always worth the money. I got the kids new shoes on tax-free weekend, all shoes were already on clearance, plus all shoes were Buy-One-Get-One 50% off, and I had a coupon.

I'll let you guess who belongs to which ones? Oddly enough, the boys shoes are all the same size!

Of course, you know who these belong too!

I am glad she still likes "little girl" things!!!

Even if I didn't think the crowd was worth it for tax-free Saturday, four pairs of Stride Rite shoes for $80 was so worth it!