First day of school

My big 1st and 4th graders getting ready to leave for school.

Haylee with her teacher Mrs Furgeson. I didn't dare to ask Cade to get a picture with his teacher (since he is too cool for that now). Remember his second grade teacher (Mrs. Kirzmarzick- the name that took him all year to learn to spell) well this year he has Mr. Kirzmarzick. Yep, and it is who he requested. They are not married, it is her brother-in-law, but he goes by Mr. K. He is the basketball coach and is totally in to sports. Needless to say, Cade is so excited for this year!

This year, I wasn't ready for summer to be over, but that didn't matter much because summer has come to an end. I wanted to do something really fun, and make this special since it's Haylee's first time going to school all day.

So I came up with this table setting. It was so much fun to make, and the kids loved it.

I made place mats for each of the kids as well.

After dinner, we had a fun FHE that was all about Knowledge (thanks Kira:) It went perfect with our 'theme' of the day.

As another summer comes to an end, I am starting to get really excited for fall. I can't wait to see how the kids do this year in school. Cade is also in GATE this year, so it will be fun to see how he excels in that program. Haylee loved her first full day, and can't wait to go back. For me, the house was so quite with the older two gone, and Bryce also in school for most of the day. I'm sure I will get used to it, but it was almost too quiet today. I miss all of the noise and action when it's gone!

*Happy 4th birthday Evan*

We let Evan choose where he wanted his birthday at. Of course he chose Chuck-e-cheese. I'm not a huge fan, but since Peter Piper Pizza closed down, we don't really have a choice. We told him he could bring a friend, so he chose his buddy Talan.

He loves this Star Wars tent, for the first few nights he slept with it on his bed:)

He loved the skate board. Ever since the X-games were on a few weeks ago, he can't get enough of it. He loved the x-games, and keeps telling us he wants to be Tony Hawk when he grows up:) He has always had amazing coordination, and the skate board is no exception. I keep wondering if I should be worried.. he has always been our little stunt man and I can totally see him doing all the tricks on ESPN someday, lol.

**Cade's 10th birthday celebration**

It started with a pool party with a bunch of his friends

Then it was on to presents

At the last minute, I couldn't find the cake pan I needed for the cake that I had planned to make. So, I had to think quick, and this is what I came up with... football cupcakes. Not the greatest, but they were a hit with the boys!

Harrison couldn't wait to get Cade when he least expected it!

Cade was a good sport about it - and laughed it off (and ate it off too:)

Indoor Skydiving

For Cade's birthday, he decided to use a gift certificate he had to Las Vegas Indoor Skydiving. It's down on the strip, so we all went down to watch him.

Getting all suited up..


Here he was as he jumped into the arena. He did awesome. At first he was a little nervous, but that didn't last long.

Two thumbs up.. success!

Cade's b-day with the family

I love these two boys. Can you tell Evan is ready for football season?

Cade getting ready to blow out the candles on his banana cream cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory (none of my kids like regular cake..weird, I know)

Cade was on to us when he opened one of his gifts and discovered it was a Hannah Montana DVD. He knew that the covers can be deceiving, so he opened it to find Madden 2011 inside.

He also got an MP3 player that he has been wanting for a long time.

I can't believe he is 10! Where has the time gone. We love him- he is such a strong leader, and a great example to the younger kids. I love how athletic and active he is, plus he is just so much fun to be around! Happy birthday Cade!

The learning never ends!

I am always looking for ways to keep these cute kids busy in the summer. This year, I decided we needed to keep the learning going.. and not spend the summer 'wasting away' their brains in this desert heat!
So, I started a preschool room. It is set up in Evan's room, since he doesn't even sleep in there anymore. The colors on the wall were perfect for a bright, fun room full of learning activities.

This is where we start our day, going over the weather and days of the week. The kids love to take turns switching out days, months and the weather.

We then move on to the alphabet. It's amazing how far Evan and Kendal have come since we started this. Repetition is the key to learning!

We then review our numbers.

We also have our 'centers' just like in Kindergarten.. This is the painting center.

This one is more for Cade. I have found some great homeschool websites with worksheets for him to work on and get to know more about each planet. He has also been working on math, history and literature as well.

My organizational center for toys, puzzles, etc..

Haylee working on her math worksheets

This is our reading center, and right next to it is the blocks center.

The kids all love this room, and it has been so fun to work with them this summer. I love to see their minds working and learning. It has been a great experience for the kids, and also for me. They are excited to start school in a few weeks, but until then we will enjoy the rest of the summer in our school room. After that, I will focus more on Evan and Kendal, and the older ones as they want.