First Day of Kindergarten

Decovin's first day of Kindergarten was August 18, 2011.  He was excited and had a really good day!  He didn't cry and was all smiles!  I, on the other hand, blubbered like a baby!  It just hit me all at once that he was suddenly so big and ready for a new stage in life!  Just went by so fast!  He is quite the little man and we are so proud of him!

When I went to pick him up, I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he just simply said: "I'll tell you when we get home"...he was EXHAUSTED!  Hopefully, he'll survive a FULL week next week!  LOL!  :-) 

Here are some pics of his fun morning/day!

 He and Camden gave each other a big hug and then held hands on the way to the car!  It was really sweet and special!

 Me and my BIG boy!

Yikes, I'm bad about updates!

So I'm not sure I will remember everything important or fun that has happened since my last post...hope you kept up with me on Facebook!  LOL! 

We started out the summer with a new playset for the boys!  It got TONS of use initially until the weather got tooooooooo HOT to use it!  But the Fall will surely change that again! 














Ok so Decovin participated in T-ball this summer for the first time and did really well!  He was able to hit the ball via coach-pitch more often than not!  We were so proud of him!  It sure made June a SUPER busy month though!  :-)

July started out with a vacation for us to Arkansas!  We started it out with my Aunt Mendy & Uncle Jim at their house in Ft. Smith, AR for a few nights including 4th of July!  It was a fun stay and the boys had a great time!

We left their house and headed for Mt. Magazine State park and climbed to the highest point in Arkansas!  The boys did pretty good but are not QUITE ready for hiking!  haha!  They were READY to be done before we got to the top, making the walk back to the car a bit trying!  LOL!

From there we headed to our campsite at Petit Jean State Park where we camped for 2 nights...it was fun and the boys did GREAT for their first official camping trip!!  :-)  We did small hikes while were there to keep the boys interested but not too tiring for them.  They did awesome and the complaining was really minimal!

We packed up and headed to Buffalo National River for the canoeing portion of our trip but on the way spotted a site to see a Natural Bridge, so we pulled over and checked it out!  It was really cool and we were glad for the find!!

We arrived at our hotel and chilled at the pool that evening and the next morning we got up and paddled 9 miles down the Buffalo Nat'l River...the boys' first official canoe trip also and they did really well!  Camden better than Decovin...Decovin was known to be bored and tired at any given time, until we stopped the canoe and they got to get out and swim...then he was happy as a lamb! Ha!

It was a really fun vacation and I hope we can do several more like this in the future!!  :-)

When we got home, the boys' bunkbeds arrived and Bob put them together and they are IN LOVE with them!  Such big boys now!  :-(

At the end of July, Bob and I participated in Kansas City's Warrior Dash.  It's a 5K (3.1 mile) trail run with obstacles thrown inbetween!  It was really challenging but it was super fun and I'm glad we did it! 

We also spent 6 days at the Plummer family cabin at Lake of the Ozarks, like we usually do every year.  Both the boys have zero fear of jumping off the dock into the water and often like to jump in just to get out and jump in again!  It wore them out for sure!!  They also enjoy going out on the boat and the jet ski!  Our little water babies!  (who aren't babies anymore!)  It was very relaxing and we really enjoyed our time down there!! 

When we got home I immediately came down with a sinus infection and I am on day 7 of this miserable cold that does not seem to want to vacate my sinus cavities!  I've been down and out pretty much the entire 7 days...I tried venturing out a couple days but I ended up feeling really bad by the end of those days!  :-(  So I'm resting today and hoping to start feeling better real soon! 

Anyway, sorry for the long post, AGAIN...I say I will keep trying to keep this up but life just gets in the way I guess!  Now for Decovin to start Kindergarten on Thursday and Camden to start Preschool on the 30th!  Eeek!  This momma is a wreck!  They will both do well, I'm just sad to see them leave me already!  :-(

Graduation, Wellness Waddle, Storm, Dam fun, & TBones Game

Decovin getting his diploma from Pastor and Miss Tina:

Smiling for the picture as the newly graduated:

He was so proud! We were too!! Good Job Decovin!

With the greatest preschool teacher EVER!! So thankful Camden gets her the next 2 years!

Me after participating in this years Wellness Waddle in Burlington...I placed 3rd in my age division!!

There was a nasty storm that was passing thru Burlington and the boys and I headed over to the neighbors to ride it out with them since Bob was working...so when the lights went out, we had fun anyway: Reading a book by flashlight:

Making shadow puppets on the ceiling:

And crashed on the couch together! Awwww

Bob had a day off and we took the boys to the dam and they had a blast throwing rocks in and just exploring...here's Decovin with his walking stick he found! ha!

Camden, cheesin' as always!

Self portrait of Bob & I:

We had the priviledge to be invited to a TBones game with a bunch of my family members...a lovely treat provided by my Aunt Mendy & Uncle Jim! Thanks guys, we had a blast:

Camden with a T-Bones hat on...he was borrowing it from Isaiah! ;-)

Bob & D

Sorry for all the pics...I will try to be better about keeping up the blog! Life is starting to get crazy...especially this month since Decovin is in T-Ball! His first game is tonight! I will try to post pics of that before July! LOL!

Summer starting in T minus 1 day and counting...

Well, I can't believe that after tomorrow, Decovin will be done with preschool! He is graduating tomorrow night and then he will be an official Kindergartener! *sniff* Where did the year go?!

So far our summer is looking to be QUITE busy! All of May & June will be t-ball, t-ball and more t-ball...

We have a few weddings to attend this summer as well...one this month, next month and one in August! Not to mention the one last month! LOL! ;-) Like I said...busy!

We do plan to make it to the lake at some point this summer for our summer vacay. :-)

The most exciting thing I am looking forward to right now is Bob's schedule is about to go back to a "quasi-normal" state!!! His outage hours should cease this Friday!!! He will actually have a few days off in a row and be able to be awake during the day to enjoy them!!! YAY!!!!! The boys are just about as excited, if not more, than Bob & I! Decovin keeps telling all his friends: "My dad has a few days off coming up!" Awwww! He misses him a lot! As do we all!

Hope everyone is doing well and has a fun summer planned!!

Wedding Pics for your pleasure!

Wedding Weekend Fun!

Well, the much anticipated wedding of Elizabeth & Jake has come and gone...It was really fun and the boys did AWESOME!! They walked down the aisle with zero hesitation and held each other's hands...it was ADORABLE! They looked really handsome in their tuxes and were really good all weekend really!

The weather was awesome and we couldn't have asked for it to be any nicer! It was such an awesome day considering they were predicting rain on Saturday days prior! Friday was SUPER SUPER SUPER windy but Saturday was just right! Funny that today, Sunday, is cold and rainy! Phew!!

So the wedding was great! The reception/dance was fun and there was no major mishaps! We all had a good time and enjoyed our stay at the wedding location, which was a lovely bed & breakfast! The entire wedding party got to stay 2 nights!! It was quite ideal really! We had the entire house to ourselves! It was LOVELY!

My mom & dad came and took some pictures so if you want a sneak peak you can look on facebook...otherwise, not sure when the pics will be posted! :-)

Well...

My Aunt Ruthie said to Blog again...so I am! ;-) Heart! I love blogging...sometimes I feel like it becomes repetative with Facebook being the priority...but I do love putting a big paragraph (of sorts) together as opposed to a one liner! :-) Took my van into the body shop today to get its boo-boo fixed. For those of you that don't know, I backed into Bob's Jeep a few weeks ago and did so much damage that the entire back hatch has to be replaced. :-( So I had to claim it on insurance since the cost was so high and also drop it off for about 4 days...so I am in a rental van that only has the sliding door on the one side so I am appreciating my van more now that it is gone. I'm hoping it looks like new when they are done with it! :-( I still question why Bob decided to park behind my garage door that day...he NEVER parks there and I was backing out mind-numbingly and just nudged right into his vehicle...ugh! Bob wasn't mad and didn't even react...he just shrugged his shoulders and went about his way...to him it is a "thing" and no one was hurt so life goes on! It's true...just stinks it cost so much to fix! Oh well... I'm still babysitting part time and I don't mind it. The girls I watch are so good that I hardly have to do anything extra...feeding them and making sure the tattle-tales aren't frequent! They do make for long days as I watch them for 12+ hours...but it's only part time so it's not that big of a deal! And the extra cash is nice! Looking forward to Easter and getting out of the house for a bit...the boys and I are getting a bit stir crazy with Bob on night shift for this outage. The hours are long and the boys CRAVE his attention whenever he is in the room...it's really sad. :-( We all miss him! Hopefully it will be over soon. But there is at least another month to go! ;-( Hope everyone is doing well! I, along with Ruthie, miss reading all the blogs! Hope to hear from you all soon!!

Chugging along...

Not much new has been happening around here...Bob is still working outage on night shift and has been on nights since March 8...so one full month as of today. He still has at least one more month to go. They are only allowed to work a maximum of 60 days on this schedule (4 nights on, 1 night off)...so it will eventually come to an end. Love the paychecks but the boys and I really miss him. Even on his "night off" we ony get to see him for the evening from about 4:30pm until boys go to bed, etc...so it's not MUCH time but it's better than nothing! ;-) Last night was Bob's night off and he took the boys to Emporia to run an errand and they had a blast going on a "boys only" trip! I had my Turbo class so I stayed home...they came home with some new sandbox toys that they are just ITCHING to try out. Once Camden wakes up, we will head outside on this gorgeously sunny day to give them a whirl! ;-) I've been keeping the boys and I busy with lots and lots of playdates at the rec center or park almost everyday! They love it and I do too! It's social time for me and for the kids! It's a win-win! Next week I will be babysitting more than I usually do so it will go by a lot faster! Anyway, not much else to report. So off for now...

Wedding Prep

So, as most of you know, Bob's littlest sister is getting married at the end of next month. We have been busying ourselves with a couple of wedding showers, a bacherlorette party, dress fittings, and tux fittings! We are ALL in the wedding so it has been a busy time for us! (I can't imagine what the bride is going through! I don't remember that far back I guess!)

Anyway, yesterday we had the boys' tux fittings and my dress fitting...the boys look SO big in their jackets! Which, by the way, are the EXACT same size! LOL! Here they are trying them on...so cute and handsome!

My dress fitting went well (sorry, no pictures), the only things that had to be done are the straps needed shortened and it needed taken in SLIGHTLY under my armpits...otherwise it was a perfect fit! :-)

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week and enjoying the end of March and hopefully the beginning of the ACTUAL spring weather! One can hope anyway!

Spring Break!

So Christy came down Tuesday afternoon and stayed til Friday afternoon. We all had a good time and enjoyed the relaxed company! Christy baked a cake with the boys and they LOVED the fun "baking tools" she brought with her! Good times!

Friday afternoon the boys and I packed up and headed to Cameron, MO to spend the weekend with Amanda & Derek...we stayed in and cooked and played games and chatted...it was so relaxing and fun! :-)

Sunday the boys & I said our goodbyes and headed to the Sprint Center in KC for the Toy Story 3 on Ice show! It was adorable and the boys had a GREAT time! :-) It was fun to see their faces light up with delight! Moments I try and cherish! Love my little men!