First Day of School

The Friday before school started we had Meet the Teacher night.  We went to Christians school first and found out his teacher this year is Mrs. Sharrock.  As we walked into her classroom he was excited to see several friendly faces:  Justin, Madeline, Emmalou, and Brock.  We emptied our school supplies as directed, met Ms Fisher who will be Christian's sub once Mrs. Sharrock goes on maternity leave in September, toured the school as much as we could, and said hello to friends while discovering what classes the kids were all in and what friends would be joining them.  Third grade is going to be a big adjustment with a new campus, new schedule, rotating classes, etc.

Next we all jumped in the car to head over to the elementary school to meet Carson's kindergarten teacher....Mrs. Walden.  We were a little disappointed that none of his friends were in his class but getting Mrs. Walden as his teacher I think will more than make up for it.  We found Carson's desk, put away school supplies, chatted with Mrs. Walden, took pictures and then away we went into the cafeteria where I would spend the next several hours at the PTA table.  I thought Chad and the boys would head home but instead they stayed up at the school visiting with teachers and friends.  It ended up being a really fun night!

On the first day of school I was without my camera and had to borrow Grandma's from the night before.  I went in to wake the boys up around 6:45 am.  Carson literally jumped out of bed and began to get ready for school.  Christian took a little more effort to get out of bed but we were able to stay on track.

Walking out the front door I took a few pics on the porch.  Carson picked out an orange shirt with guitars to wear on the first day of school while Christian decided on a light blue Under Armour shirt and his Baylor cross necklace.  

Ready for kindergarten with his PBK Batman backpack

Ready for third grade

Christian was not having any part of me walking him in to school this morning.  I wish I would have just walked him in anyway, but I let him be a big boy.  As Chad and I went to drop him off at the front door we rolled down the window and called his name to turnaround so we could at least get a picture of him in front of his new school building but you could tell by his face and giant sigh that he let out that we were embarrassing him.   As we made the turn to leave the parking lot I could not hold back the tears.  Such a big boy!

Now the baby of the family is a big boy too

Ready to walk in and start his day

In front of the cubbies.  Look at that face!  Unfortuantely he did a face plant while playing putt putt at Christian's party and had to start school with a big strawberry on his forehead and a big scrape under his nose that is going to leave a terrible scar. :(  He is still just as cute as ever!!

At his table

Carson and Mrs. Walden

Carson was so excited the day had finally come that Celina Elementary was now his school.  He walked right into class, sat down in his chair, took lots of pictures and began his work.  After big hugs and saying bye, I stepped out into the hall to take it all in.  He never looked back and I knew that he would have a great day.  I, on the other hand, began the long walk to the front door alone and again in tears.  Life as we knew it had forever changed at this moment.  

Chad dropped me off at the New/Blue/Woo Hoo coffee where I was to speak on behalf of the PTA.  He picked me up later to meet the Stephens for lunch at Blue Goose. YUMMY  The day was filled with mixed emotions.  It was nice to have the boys in school but I kept looking in the back seat to find my little buddy smiling back at me.  Chad and I went back to the house for a little while before it would be carpool time and the house was oddly quiet.  I could not get over it.  This was definitely going to be a harder adjustment for me that it was going to be for Carson.

After a long day he got in the car and told me all about his day and boy did he have a lot to share. :)  It is going to be a great year for both of them!

We Now Have a NINE Year Old

Kids grow up entirely too fast!  It is frightening honestly how quickly they are growing up and I just want to hold on to every minute with them.  Christian just turned nine years old.  NINE!  Driving to church on his birthday Chad and I told him about the night we went to the hospital for him to be induced the next morning and I can honestly remember it all like it was yesterday.  I vividly remember the tiny blue and white hat and onesie we dressed him in and the sign Etta had made and posted on the back door welcoming the three of us home.

Now, my precious first born child is nine years old.  For our family celebration Christian asked for a taco night! YUM! We had the whole family come over early in the afternoon as Monday was the first day of school.  We played cards, cooked, laughed, ate, sang happy Birthday, watched him open presents and just had a great time.

Grandma and Ta Ta

My baby

Chad and Nikki playing gin before the poker game began

The birthday boy

Best Buddies!  Thank you Carson

Hogwarts Castle

Ready to go hunting

A special present from daddy!

Happy Birthday Christian.  We love you so much!

Adventure Landing

Christian decided he wanted to go ride go-karts with his friends for his birthday, trouble is they are not tall enough to drive by themselves.  I struggled back and forth with which location to choose but finally we settled on Adventure Landing because we had been there plenty of times before and they have a fun track. While the kids had a great time, I was completely stressed out in the beginning because our party hostess was TERRIBLE, plus it was H - O - T!!!!  The party started with all the kids inside playing video games and racking up tickets.

Next, they had us in the party room for pizza and cake.  The boys were absolutely wild, the hostess was  NO help, the dads were in the corner eating pizza and laughing it up while Jenny Kenny and I passed out pizza, poured re-fills, etc.....I was not a happy camper at this point.

Christian's Hogwarts Castle birthday cake.  

He blew out the candles, it is time to cut up the cake, right?  WRONG

I thought it would be cute to have magic candles on his Hogwarts cake for a little extra effect.  All I can say is T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E idea.  We literally almost caught the place on fire!!!  I could see it in my mind. This was the order of events. 

1. Hostess lit candles at side table

2. Hostess lifts cake and places in front of Christian (candles are burning)

3. Everyone sings Happy Birthday (candles are burning)

4. Christian makes a wish and blows out candles

5. Candles magically re-light

6. Candles are burning, quickly melting and Christian blows them out again

7. Candles magically re-light

8. Chad tries to take each candle off the cake with his fingers but they are very small at this point and very close together.

9. Candles are little nubs sticking out of the cake

10. I grab one of the kids cups for Chad to dunk the candles in

11. Chad drops a candle in the water but the flames won't go out

12.  I grab a fork to lift several of the candles off the cake at the same time and force them down into water

13. CK the fireman walks over to over-see everything and help get the candles out

13.  The room is filling with smoke, my heart is beating out of my chest, the hostess is just standing there watching,  but luckily the fire was averted as we FINALLY got all the candles out.

Note to self:  NEVER buy magic candles again....EVER

After that fun it was time to go outside so the real fun could begin.  The kids ran straight to the bumper boats.  Unfortunately there were only 5 working at the time so they had to break up into two groups.  

Mini go-karts

                                      

I am just realizing that we came away without a single picture on the big go-karts.  Probably because all of us parents piled in the two-seaters to race the kids around the track and prove who had the crazy mad skills!  All I can say is......it wasn't a dad! After a few races on the track the boys made their way to play putt-putt golf.

8 of the 12 boys

Before we left, the kids went back into the arcade to use up the last of their tokens.  

The kids all had a great time and I must give props to you parents for sweating to death with smiles on your faces.  I think ultimately we all had a great time and it was definitely a party to remember.

BEFORE...

For Christian's birthday he asked us to re-do his room.  Here it is with everything out of there except for two pieces of furniture.   Stay Tuned........

The Scare of the Century

We got the scare of a lifetime last Thursday during football practice!  When Christian came up for his turn in one of the tackling drills, the boy he was trying to tackle got low and in an effort to get lower than him to make the tackle, Christian ducked his head and went in for a helmet to helmet hit which caused his back to buckle and snap.  I must say that luckily I did not actually see it happen, which I think helped me to remain as calm as I did.  Out of nowhere I heard "Heather load all your stuff in the truck".  I don't even know where he was at the time he said it but after hearing that a second time and if finally registering, I quickly realized that practice had stopped and all the coaches were kneeling down next to a player on the ground in orange pants, the same color I had sent Christian to practice in. In a matter of a second my sweet friends had swooped everything up to take to the truck, and were ready to take care of Carson the rest of the night.   As I ran onto the field I found his head coach on the phone with 911, Chad with a serious look of concern right beside our son and several of the other coaches consoling me letting me know everything was going to be o.k.  WHAT IS HAPPENING?

At this point, I am trying to figure out what happened, trying to remain calm for Christian and trying not to cry in front of everyone. I was quite impressed with my ability to stay calm but the tears did flow when I heard the sirens getting closer and saw a pack of paramedics rush the field with a gurney.  I prayed constantly and knew in my heart that everything was going to be fine but there was no controlling the emotions anymore.  The medics did a quick evaluation, stabilized his neck, lifted him on the gurney and away we went.  As we made our way to the ambulance and walked past the 4th grade team that shares the field with us I couldn't help but notice they too had all taken a knee and began to clap as Christian was wheeled by. This sign of respect was so touching especially as we heard kids and coaches telling Bones to get well soon because they needed him on the field.  He gave them two thumbs up and away we went with Chad following behind in the truck. Unfortunately it took two attempts to get his iv in and he cried crocodile tears which broke my heart.  Once it finally was in and they gave him some pain meds he made them all promise no more shots for the rest of the night.  It was the saddest thing in the world to witness.

I can not say enough though about the Celina FD and the wonderful paramedics that came to his aid.  Most all of them were raised in Celina and talked to Christian and I about their days playing football for the Bobcats.  It really helped ease both of our nerves.  When we made it to the hospital we walked in the emergency room to find Yai Yai and Aunt Tawnie there waiting for us.  He was wheeled into an ocean themed room (right up his alley right now) with a variety of fish and whales painted on the wall.  Poor thing, he was a nervous wreck.  Luckily, Shea Shea came in shortly after we got there too and brought her favorite pillow for comfort. 

Praise the Lord, after two rounds of x-rays, the doctors finally came back with the news that Christian had a neck and back strain, was bruised and sore but he would be just fine in no time!  THANK YOU LORD for protecting my son and wrapping your arms around him!  After we did get the good news I took this one picture for posterity before the nurse came in to prepare him for discharge.

As we sat in the hospital and reflected on what had transpired, I could not help but be taken aback by the countless texts and calls we had received from friends.  News traveled fast and we received word from cheer moms, through Facebook, from parents and coaches on other teams and the many parents and friends on Christian's team that were truly concerned and there to support us.  Just another reminder of why we love raising our kids in this incredible community.  We have been blessed with THE best extended family of friends that anyone could ask for!  I am so thankful for each and every one of them!

As we walked out the door of the hospital Christian immediately asked to call Coach Frank and tell him he was o.k. We were starving by now and Christian asked to go to In and Out Burger.  Chad went in and ordered while Shea, Christian and I sat outside.  It was a beautiful night so we sat out there for a while, eating, and finally returning a few call to let everyone know he was o.k.

A few nights later Christian received a goody bag that several of his friends from the team had contributed too with handwritten notes by the boys.  A bag full of his favorites....rock candy, gummy bears, m&ms and more.  Look at that smile!

Breakfast in Bed

This should have been posted a few weeks ago but I just downloaded pictures to my computer for the first time in a while.  So, several weeks ago Christian had Brock spend the night.  When it came time to put them in bed they asked me to help set the alarm clock.  They were eager to wake up at the crack of dawn but I kept trying to nudge them for a later time.  The next morning this is what I woke up to...

BREAKFAST IN BED

Eggo French Toast with strawberries, blueberries, bananas and a side of toast! I love how they carried it in on these little trays too!  Are you loving Christian's retro pj's......Uncle Ross used to sport some just like it!

Thanks boys!

A few funnies

The other night we are sitting at the dinner table talking about Christian's new big boy room that we are re-doing for his birthday. I can't remember what was said but I replied that whatever it was that it would not go with the new motif.  Christian then turned his lip up and asked "What's a motif"?  I would give anything to have what followed on video.  As serious as he could be, Carson looked at his brother and said, "I'll tell you what mo-teef is, it's these" and pointed to his teeth.  It was hysterical!

For this same meal I cooked steak, potatoes and green beans.  Fresh green beans I might add that I even drizzled some brown sugar on while cooking so they would be sweet.  Christian held one up and asked, "what are these"?  Green beans, I said.  He said, "No.  Green beans are supposed to be like 2" long".  I told him that these were fresh green beans.  Anyway for the rest of the dinner Chad, Christian and Carson all chimed in on how I was not an american, I just want them to be yankee like me (said from Carson), and after years of growing a garden with his Pa Pa, green beans were not supposed to have this texture.  Give me a break!!  I am sorry that these are not 2" green beans that have been soaking in a can of preservative for three years so that you could eat them with no teeth.