Nine and a Half

At our house, we celebrate the little things in life.  Today, Edward turns nine and a half.  Oh, how he makes my mother heart sing.  He is truly a beautiful child.  He is so easy going.  He is stubborn.  He is kind.  He is funny.  He loves animals.  He loves ALL animals.  Last week, he bought his own snake.  He has wanted a snake for a long time. He saved his money for two summers and he bought his own snake, the cage, the food, and all the accessories.  

I love this boy.

He is in fourth grade.  He is extremely intelligent.  I read some where that children inherit their intelligence from their moms.  HA HA! If my children only knew that I am not book smart, at all.  I tested well below average in school.  I had to work my buns off to pass classes and to eventually get my masters degree.  I talked to my boys about how they are truly blessed in their lives.  They have everything they need to survive.  Edward is wise beyond his years.  He has an old soul.  Look deep into his beautiful sky blue eyes and you can see a child who understands more than he says.  

My heart bursts with pride knowing he is mine.  I love him.  I love him more than I can say.  I love watching him grow and change.  I love watching him live his beautiful life. 

 He is a kind older brother.  He is always watching out for Nolen.  Edward still loves to eat all food. He will try anything.  He is not scared to try new foods and on that same note he is not scared to try new things.  This sweet boy is the joy of my life.  He is the boy that made me a mother nine and a half years ago.  I love him.  I am truly blessed to be his mother.

The First Day

Well summer is over.

Today is the first day of school.

Edward is starting fourth grade with Mr. Seth.  We are so excited for him to have a great teacher this year.  Nolen had Mr. Seth for half of last year and he was great.  Edward was so excited this morning.  He packed his lunch and marched right in to school with a smile.  Edward has a locker and a place to put all his stuff through out the day.  He didn't know anyone in his class but I am sure he will make some good friends this year.

Nolen in starting second grade with Ms. Claire.  Nolen was supposed to have the same teacher, Ms. Lisa, as last year; however, it appears she left the school.  Sad. It seems Nolen can not catch a break.  Luckily, he has loved all of his teachers.  Ms. Claire seems nice and I hope, hope, hope Nolen comes home from school happy as a clam!

Is summer really over?

Please don't say it! I almost don't want to write it, as that will make it true.  Summer is nearly over.  Our summer adventures are coming to a close.  I am so sad.  So so sad.  I love summer.  I live for summer.  School begins in 7 days.  SEVEN days separate me from bliss and the eternal torment of a schedule.  Ugh!

Please breath this collective sad grunt out loud.  I really should home school my boys.  I am not sure that our schedules will be any less busy; however, it would give me the peace of mind that I am in control of the schedule, not the school system.  Seven days begins the endless "Your son is....." from teachers.  I wish they could all see the good.  I am really praying hard that Edward will get a compassionate teacher that understands children need to MOVE!

I digress.

This last weekend, we went on a last hurrah trip to Phoenix.  I really wanted to see Stephen's family, my cousin, and, of course, Craig and Blair.  I wasn't able to check everyone off my Phoenix list, however, we had a blast!

We drove Thursday night to spend the night with Craig.  Blair flew in early Friday morning and once everyone was up and ready, we drove over to the resort.  We stayed at the Marriott Desert Ridge in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was gorgeous! Friday, we spent the entire afternoon out at the pool.  The resort has a lazy river, a slide, and a waterfall pool! We spent the majority of our time on the lazy river.

It was really relaxing.  Every time we got out we sprayed ourselves with gallons of sunscreen to avoid burns.  Phoenix is HOT! Saturday, we ate the delicious breakfast buffet and went straight to the pool.  We pretty much stayed on the resort property the entire vacation.  We signed the boys up for a kids club Saturday night and they LOVED IT!  While they played, the rest of us went out to watch Mission Impossible.  A great thrilling movie, if you are wondering.

Sunday, we woke up and went straight to the pool.  We swam in the empty lazy river until 10, then we packed up our stuff, ate breakfast then headed out.

I decided to surprise Stephen's mom and sister with a quick Maricopa visit.  It is always nostalgic to drive back through the town I grew up in.  It has changed so much!  The only things that have stayed the same are the Napa Auto Parts store, the rail road track, and the location of the school.  Everything else is completely different.  

We rang the door bell and surprised  the family.  We only stayed for a few hours because we had dinner plans with my cousin; however, the dinner plans fell through.  We drove back up to Peoria and ate with Craig and Blair.  We all passed out around 10 PM at night.  

Monday morning, we woke up early and headed back home.  We stopped at Meteor Crater near Flagstaff and I might say that was the highlight of the trip for the boys.  They loved every second of it.  They talked on and on about the meteor effected the earth when it hit.  I let them choose a rock to buy and we were back on the road.

I am hoping to make the most of these last seven days of freedom.  Summer is never long enough.  I feel so free, so happy, and so refreshed.