KINDERGARTEN!

The day finally came when we had to take our oldest baby to his first day of real school. I've been anticipating this day for about...ohhhh 5 and 1/2 years. I just cannot believe that his time at home is done. That's what gets me. It's not being away from him all day, it's not "kindergarten", it's knowing that he will never spend the majority of his waking hours with me anymore (with the exception of weekends, holidays, teacher in service days, summers, and sick days). He has so much to learn and experience. Selfishly, I feel like I'm missing out on time spent with Ryan. He has so much to say and wants to know everything; I am sad to know that he will have to learn how to censor his thoughts and ideas because there is no way a teacher can keep up with the ramblings of 28 5 year olds!

We hired a sitter to watch AJ and Will so that Heath and I could both devote our full attention to Ryan's big morning. I got up early and COOKED BREAKFAST! We were all set to go, early to take photos, dressed in his new uniform when..."mom, I don't feel so good". I took him to the bathroom just in time. The poor little guy was so sick. After about 10 minutes of 'being sick' he decided that he felt fine so we took him to school. I warned the teacher, but Ryan insisted that he felt "A - OK" and wanted to stay. 2 hours later I got a call from the school nurse. So, on his first day of school when I wanted to cry, I instead busied myself with cleaning the bathroom and snuggling all 3 of our little guys at home on the couch!

Do Over

The second day went much better than the first. He loves school - LOVES it! He is so ready for this that I can't feel sad about it. I am so proud of this little guy!

Vegas, Baby - YEAH!

Viva Las Vegas!

Water show at the Bellagio

More water show at the Bellagio

Watching the Gondolas

We decided to hit Vegas the last weekend before Ryan started school. Ryan and Will were so excited to sleep in the pyramid (we stayed at the Luxor), tour Venice, New York, and Paris AND see sharks, pirates, and roller coasters all in one weekend. No where else on earth can you do that? Vegas Baby.....now if only I could get that card counting thing down...

Baptism

The ladies from our church made these adoreable banners for us to take home.
Sneaking a peek?

I'm behind there somewhere - now we know where the wild hair came from!

So sweet....even after having to postpone the ceremony for a few minutes for an emergency diaper change.

Grand Canyon

Kinda felt like the Griswolds........"Yep, there it is - let's go!"

Papa's Pix..

My Dad takes such beautiful pictures. I love the way he can capture the kids' personalities on film....or disc, whatever!

Fun Week

"If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face" -Jack or Carl... :)
Really into presents this year!

Chef Ryan - yes, Will got a KITCHEN for his birthday. They love it!!

Katelyn helping Heath put together the kitchen.

Hair Twin

AJ's hair is always a crowd pleaser. It commands a lot of attention and awe from complete strangers who feel compelled to tell me they've never seen anything like it! Yesterday we met Lucas......AJ's hair twin! How cute is all that baby hair???

Happy Birthday Will

Our sweet baby 7/6/06 Enid, OK
Our precious 1 year old 7/6/07 Osan, South Korea

Our adventurous toddler 7/6/07 Surprise, AZ

Once again, I can't believe how fast time has flown. Will turned 2 years old yesterday. This time with him has been a blur, probably because we've been on the move so much. He was born in Enid, OK; at 2 months we moved to Phoenix, at 5 months we moved to California, at 11 months we moved to Korea, at 17 months we moved back to California, at 19 months we moved back to Phoenix! He is so easy going and well adjusted, considering he's lived in 5 differnt homes in these past 2 years. He has grown into such a friendly, funny little boy. He loves to laugh and make us laugh with his jokes, songs, and pranks. He loves his brothers, stuffed puppy, avocados, blueberries, sports, Little Einsteins, and, his favorite past time, swimming. (It's a good thing we're in AZ instead of AK) He adds so much fun and love to our family. Happy Birthday, Will!

Mimi and Papa

Ryan was so excited for my parents to get here that he pulled his chair to the front window to watch for them. He didn't move from this position for 15 minutes!!
At the Grand Canyon. We saw the canyon for about 20 minutes...spent the rest of the day looking for bathrooms, throwing pinecones, and completing the Junior Ranger program.

Ryan and Papa learning about bats at the Junior Ranger Camp.

Bonding

I love this picture!!

We had a great visit with my parents last week. They drove out for Will and Aiden's baptism. We had a fun time swimming, jammin' to Rock Band, going to the IMAX 3D Grand Canyon adventure....which we liked so much that we decided to see the real thing. I was so nervous to take the kids to the canyon but they did great. We had Will safely contained in a stroller! I will post the pics when my dad sends me his copies - I don't even bother taking photos when my dad is around. He is such an excellent photographer!

Wild Will

No, we don't have mice. Will was bound and determined to get at these Cheerios while we were grocery shopping the other day. He chewed his way through the box!!!!!!!!

We had another ER visit with Will this week. Thankfully, he didn't break anything...except my bookshelves. He got a nasty bump but, at least, has not attempted to stand on AJ's saucer anymore. When I put AJ in it this morning Will asked, "AJ bump his head too?"

Salina Grippe

Heath's Grandmother, Sally Grippe, quietly and peacefully passed away on Monday morning. I will always remember her for the way she opened her home and heart to me when Heath and I first started dating 13 years ago, when I felt a bit like an outsider at family functions. Her home was full of memories and photos of her family and friends. It was the one place that helped me understand where Heath came from and the person he was before I knew him. We will remember her as the spunky grandma she was.