Weekend in Texas

I told him he had an eye Dr. appointment in Seattle
and that's why I was checking him out of school early on a Thursday.
He was oblivious to the fact that his suitcase was packed and loaded in the back of the van,
that our boarding passes were printed, and that we drove right on past Seattle and on to the airport.

 
It wasn't until we stopped at the airport doors that he realized something was up. His first guess was that we were picking Grandma up from the airport, but when we told him he and I were leaving on a weekend trip to Texas he was all smiles. Well, as smiley and excited as mellow Kyler gets.

We said goodbye to dad, D, and L (Kacin had snuck a hug from Kyler in the morning without Kyler knowing why) and we were off for some fun with the Hyer family!

It was our first time seeing baby Rylie in person. Loved holding this adorable niece of mine!

I can't believe how big Preston and Bryce have gotten. Now these are two sweet boys.

The Hyer family showed us a good time. Not only did we get plenty of hugs, compliments, songs, and good food and company, we also went to the airplane simulators, the boys went fishing, we had a day at 6 Flags Over Texas, and more.

The whole time we were gone I missed my three other kids and my Eric, but it was also a much needed and enjoyed trip to relax after the most stressful year of my life. I am so glad that I was able to go with Kyler and get some one on one time with this wonderful boy. We dubbed this trip his early 10th birthday present. We decided it can now be a family tradition to take a trip with a parent when you turn 10. Kacin is glad he only has to wait a year. Well, actually he says a year is too long to wait, but I'm sure that he means he is glad it is only a year. Sure of it.

Thanks again, Hyer family!

Today

Everyone around here changes so quickly.
I tell them to stop growing up, but they don't listen.
Kacin reminds me that it is good for them to grow up
so he can have a wife and get married and have his own family.
A lot of their growing is in good ways.
I just want to capture who they are now
in this moment
before I close my eyes and Kacin's wife comes along.

L
She throws her head back and laughs now. She surprises me each day by saying new words. She randomly blows raspberries in our faces and then carries on like we are not covered in her spit. She asks to sleep with Kacin every night these days. She has fallen asleep next to him once, but usually she just plays with his glasses when we leave the room. She often has an opinion about what to wear when I dress her in the morning. She loves wearing her rain boots and putting on D's shoes. She asks to play at every park we pass. I can finally get her to keep a small clip in her hair for most of the day to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She protests against naps and sleep these days because she just wants to play. She loves singing Lullaby to her babies.

D
He is communicating and engaging with us more and more. He now has over 20 words/word approximations and uses 3 signs. He calls both me and Eric mama (sometimes Kacin and Kyler are mama, too) and just recently he tries to say L's name. He still loves cars. The second thing he says to me each morning is "ee", which means he wants his set of keys (I hook those to his pants). The first thing he says is poo-poo. He smiles sooo big when he sees Eric or his car. He doesn't always like to see the school bus, but he does great at school. He gives great big hugs, which are nice until he bites your shoulder or pulls your hair. He sings when he is happy. A game he plays goes like this: run to you, say bye and give you a kiss, run to a door, open and close it, and repeat. It is one of his repetitions, but he is so happy and it is so cute when he asks everyone for kisses. He likes to help.

Kacin and Kyler:
I know they are two different people, but today they have enough in common for me to say this about both of them. They love mine craft and they avoid my camera. They are both incredibly good and helpful with D and L. They especially love getting the littles out of their beds in the morning. They are busy with soccer practices and games and piano and cub scouts. They work hard around the house, but their room is always a mess within two minutes of cleaning it. One reads and the other plays games with me. I am so proud of them both.

Life, with Hammocks

My world could handle more afternoons like this:

It only took us 9 years to actually use the hammocks E and I bought together in Brazil. We designated a corner of our back yard to hang three of our hammocks for use to bask in the sunshine and gaze at the stars.

Do you think E will be pleased about this picture? It surely depicts some excellent basking and gazing. Was he a model in another life?

Oh, and it only took us 1 year to finish the third Harry Potter book. That is better than 9 years. We did some serious reading in these hammocks in order to finish.

Sometimes I think I like posting unflattering pictures just how they are. Because an imperfect life is my life and that makes it a perfect life.

 

First Day

These three boys were so excited for their first day of school. 

If only every day could be like this where everyone is up, chores done, and ready to go nice and early . . .

Kyler--4th Grade

Kacin--3rd Grade

D--Preschool

 I don't know if he had any idea what was actually going on--mom waking him up early, quickly feeding him pancakes, placing a backpack on his back, and saying the words bus and school again and again--but he was so happy and smiley. I like to think he was looking forward to preschool.

D was determined to follow the boys down to their bus stop.

We took a peek at the waiting kids and parents and then much to D's despair I made him go back to our house where the bus would pick him up.

He was excited, then hesitant, but once I walked on the bus with him he was just fine.

Kacin requested that I meet them down at the school. I survived the parking nightmare and eventually found the boys waiting in their lines. So they got one more hug from me.

Glad it worked out that Ky's best friend is in his class again this year.

I got home and the house was so quiet. Well, except for my L every few minutes asking "where's Lyla? (Kyler) "where's Asa? (kacin) "Where's Day-day?" (D). But I think she enjoyed our one on one time in which she got to tell me where to sit and ask me to make play dough balls and help dress the babies.

I couldn't stomach my little D riding the bus both ways on the first day. He would have been fine, but I was nervous and needed some reassurance from the teachers that he did ok. And he was great!

When Ky and Kacin came home it was the happiest first day yet. They had great days! Kyler was so relieved that his teacher was so nice, and even had Legos. He said she is the best teacher he has ever had and he can't imagine her ever being mean like some of his previous teachers were. Kacin looped up with his teacher so he knew what to expect and who would be in his class and he was happy. They devoured m&m cookie bars and gave me details from their days. And I was happy there was so much happiness from the first day of school.

Before School Starts

Summer vacation comes to an end today. Kyler and Kacin have their clothes set out and their backpacks ready to go. We have met teachers. We are ready for the school year to begin, but so sad for the summer to be over. We tried to cram as much fun into the last week as possible.

I took each of the boys out individually to buy a few items that they needed before school. We had such fun together on these back to school dates. We got to talk (I heard some rather interesting stories from Ky)  and laugh (about things like the Kacin and the m&ms incident) and they had my undivided attention as they tried on shoes and debated which lunchbox to buy.

We went back to school for a night and to preschool for a morning to meet teachers and visit classrooms.

We played outside with the hose in the warm summer sun.

And our last big hurrah was a weekend of camping at Cascade park with good weather, good campsite, good company, and good fun in the river and on the slip n slide.

And so this is when we say goodbye to one fabulous summer and welcome in a new school year! It's back to routines and busy schedules starting tomorrow. Let's just hope we can all remember how to go to bed at a decent hour . . .