Back to School

All three up bright and early and looking stylish for the first day of school.
Zachary is in Mrs. Wilde's 6th grade class...she is the same awesome teacher he had in 5th grade.
Cameron and his crazy best-friend Kai are both in the 3rd grade and have Mrs. Schmitz.
Cameron all ready for the first day...faux hawk and all.
Ashley...pictured with her desk mate Liz...is in Mrs. Anderson's 2nd grade class. Both Zach and Cameron had Mrs. A and we all love her and are so glad she is the first teacher that has had all three of the our kids!!

Fort Building 101 with Professor Courtney

Yesterday my brother Courtney and the boys did some much needed trimming of our backyard trees and then in true Courtney fashion they proceeded to build a super awesome fort out of the discarded tree limbs. I have to say their fort is quite impressive and surprisingly roomy inside...it even withstood the afternoon down pour of rain. Courtney could give Survivor Man a run for his money.
Having Court around providing the entertainment the past 2 weeks sure has been a highlight of the kids summer break... which sadly will come to an end when the new school year starts this Monday.

I Gotta Wear Shades...

All 3 of the kids had eye doctor appointments on Saturday, Ashley’s was a follow up from getting her glasses a month ago and the doctor was really happy that her eye strength is already starting to improve. So it looks like she might only have to wear her glasses for a year or two. The boys both passed their eye exams and only have minor weaknesses in one eye, but no need for glasses, Zach was happy about that. The boys did however end up getting their eyes dilated and since they never wear sunglasses the doc gave them those dorky disposable plastic sunglasses…which John, Ashley and I thought was pretty funny. As soon as we got home they both chucked them and changed into real sunglasses and pretty much had to wear them the rest of the day...Ashley on the other hand always wears sunglasses because she's just stylish like that. I personally think the boys look rather cool and should wear shades more often.

Totally Rock'n Weekend

This weekend we had a big life lesson for Zachary.

He made his first major purchase with the money he's been saving for the past 6 months. So what did he buy...of course it was something very practical...Rock Band for the Wii. John and I were initially against the purchase...mainly because it was just too expensive. But what could we say when Zach had worked so hard saving up all the money on his own. He got such a kick out of watching the balance go up on his monthly savings account statements and he loved that his account drew interest or what he prefers to call his free money.

John and I are so proud of how responsible Zach is and we're actually quite happy with his purchase...because this thing is soooo much fun. Our whole family is enjoying being in the Band (our band name is Wii Rock)...so much so that we might even chip in and pay Zach back a little of his investment.

After many hours playing Guitar Hero, Zach is by far our best guitarist beating all the song on Hard, with Cameron and Ashley doing very well on Easy and a few Mediums. Courtney is our top drummer with John getting better and better after every song. I do fairly well on easy level guitar but prefer singing (that is if I can get the mic away from Courtney). I usually do the high songs and he sings the low ones...we both do pretty well and actually really enjoy it...although I'm sure the poor souls who have to listen to us would highly disagree.

Here are a few pics of us enjoying the game over the weekend...

Back to School Shopping - Trip #1

3 long lists and 1.5 hours in Target with 3 kids = 2 Tylenol and a Chai Tea Latte

3 new backpacks and a cart full of new school supplies = $175

Sorting, opening and labeling new school supplies = 1 handful of Hot Tamales and a nap

Being prepared for the first day of school = priceless

Next weekend...shopping for Back to School clothes (wish me luck!!!)

Ice Cream Pit Stop

I forgot to add these pictures from last weekend.

On the way home from Loveland we made a quick pit stop at McDonalds to use actual flushing toilets for the first time in 2 days...I hate that part about camping.

The A/C felt so nice that we took a little ice cream break...and we didn't even care that we were absolutely filthy from head to toe.

We must have sat there for a good 20 minutes before finally climbing back in the car and heading home for some much needed showers.

4th of July Camping Weekend

Honoring the Fallen

PFC David P Burridge

We couldn't go through this holiday weekend without first pausing for a moment to remember our beloved nephew David who's life was taken on September 6, 2004 while serving as a United States Marine in Iraq.

He is our hero and we miss him everyday.

Honor the Fallen