First Day of School

 Wow!  I can't believe summer is already over!  As the kids get older, the summers go by quicker and quicker and really reminds me of how fast time is passing!  This was probably the toughest year for me to send my kids off.  Avery is now in 6th grade which means in our town that she is now in Middle School.  We have two middle schools in our town and we had asked that she be transferred to the other middle school.  Everything was working out until 2 weeks before school was to start and we got a call saying they were too full to accept her request.  At first it was really hard to take, but we are really happy that she is over at Madison and feel like this is the best place for her to be.  The office staff at Madison felt bad for her too and knowing all the Johns (Randy and his siblings went to Madison) they put her in office aid which she was super excited about.  Also, this meant that she could catch the bus which was a big help for me!

 Austin is now in fourth grade at Ranch Heights Elementary and has Mrs. Key for a teacher.  His confidence has grown a lot and I think he is going to take on the role of being responsible for his younger sisters with great ease.  I had wished Avery could have been there one more year to help Ashton get the school under her grasp, but I think Austin can do that for her and that makes me feel very good.

 Addison is in first grade now... wow- did that fly by!  We are excited because she has Mrs. Douthit who Randy and Avery both had as their teacher.  She is a great teacher and we are looking forward to seeing Addie grow a lot this year!  Mrs. Douthit keeps telling me she is going to retire and I tell her she has to wait until Ashton has her before she can!  Hopefully she can wait a couple more years!

Yes, believe it or not, but my youngest is now in school!  Ashton starts Pre-K this year which in an all-day program in our Elementary School.  So she rides the bus to and from school with the other two.  Austin and Addie have both been super great at taking care of her and she loves school!  I was so nervous because she hated Mothers Day Out, and she refused to go to the childcare program at the YMCA so I could ever work out.  But now the only times she has complained was when she has to miss school!  It has been hard to send any of my kids to school, but I think when it is your last you really have a hard time.  I took them to school on their first day and the walk back to my car after dropping them off was the longest and most lonely walk of my life.  There were no little feet walking next to me and no hand to hold... just me.  I love my kids so much and I'm so glad they are growing and becoming independent- but I definitely try to treasure each of our moments we have together as I see too quickly each of them growing up.

Happy Birthday Addie!!

 My little girl is 6 years old now!!  She had a friend party last year so this year we decided that her birthday would be a family party.  She loved waking up to her room full of balloons.

 And who doesn't love cinnamon rolls for breakfast!  We usually make the whole day all about what that birthday kid wants to do.

 So for lunch, she chose McDonalds!

 And for dinner we headed to Tulsa to eat at Olive Garden.  Now, she does love Olive Garden... but her real reason for wanting to eat in Tulsa for dinner...

 was because all she really wanted for her birthday was to go to Build-A-Bear!  We had been watching the Olympics all summer, especially the gymnasts, so it wasn't much of a surpise when she picked out an Olympic Bear and chose gymnastic attire for her to wear!  She even named her bear Gabby after the gold medalist Gabby Douglas.

From the looks of that smile, I think she had a wonderful day!  Happy Birthday Miss Addie John.  We love you so much and are so happy you are part of our family!

Great Wolf Lodge

 This summer our big trip wasn't too far from home, but it was pretty unforgettable!  We decided to go up to Kansas City and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge.  It was a surprise for the kids so when they saw the hotel off the highway and were screaming to go there, they were pretty surprised that we actually "listened" to them.

 They loved their little Club house in our bedroom with bunk beds and their own television.

 They also enjoyed the characters that came around and the puppet show that went on in the main lobby every so often.  We went down there one night in our pajamas for the night time story.

 But one of their favorite things was the wizard game that they all got to play.  It was a scavenger hunt wizard game that kept them busy for the full two days.  They couldn't get enough.... it was really fun!

 Of course their other favorite part they couldn't get enough of was the huge water park inside the hotel!  You can see a little bit of it here in the background.  All my pictures inside didn't turn out.  There was an indoor and outdoor water park that had things for all ages!  

 We could have easily stayed at the hotel the whole time, but we couldn't possibly go up to Kansas City and not watch the Royals play the Texas Rangers!

 We sat out in the outfield which was BLAZING hot... but that's what you do when your favorite player on the team is...

Josh Hamilton!  We didn't get him to throw us any balls but we did get him to turn his head and wave!  We had a great time at the ball park, shopping, eating and hanging out at Great Wolf Lodge!

Friends forever...

We were so sad when summer was coming to a close because we knew the Vaclaws would be moving down to Houston.  Tyler took a job down there, and though it's not that far away it was still hard to say goodbye to best friends.  We've been friends forever and all of our kids have grown up together so we have a million great memories.  We know we will see each other often but it won't be the same... so here I go enjoying looking back on just a few memories....

Avery and MaryKate now....

 and a few years ago.  

Austin and Logan now....

 and as little guys.

Addie and Evie now...

and back when.

Ashton and Jake now...

 and little tykes!

Summer Baseball

 One of the things I think of when I think of summer is baseball.  We love baseball as a family.  Randy played baseball growing up and we both have always enjoyed watching baseball on television... especially the Atlanta Braves.  And the last couple of years we've enjoyed watching Austin play.  We were impressed with Austin's baseball abilities last year and just as impressed this year.  

 He was definitely most nervous at bat... but he always seemed so calm and collective.  He did a good job of reading the ball and most of the time was able to get on base.  Austin's team won the City Championship in their division.  They also won the State Championship in their division.

 We had another crazy hot summer this year.  During the City Championship, the heat really got to Austin.  He had made it to the final inning, his team was up to bat and the game was tied.  Austin was laying on the grass and could hardly open his eyes because his stomach and head hurt so bad.  They had two outs, bases loaded, and Austin was up to bat.  If he didn't bat, the game would be over because it would be an automatic out.  His coaches asked him if he could just stand up to the plate because most likely he would be walked and they would win.  Not only did Austin gain enough strength to get up to bat, but he hit the ball down the first base line and made it to first base, bringing the runner on third home and winning the City Championship.

He did end up coming home and suffering a small case of heat exhaustion which took 3 days to get over, but it was a day none of us will forget.  I think Randy was almost in tears with pride!  Austin had a great summer season with some great coaches and grew a lot.  Randy was the team manager and hosted (with the help of each of our kids and myself) a couple of great tournaments.  Randy enjoys helping Austin grow as a player and the girls and I enjoy being Austin's biggest fans!  

Fourth of July

We LOVE the fourth of July!  Good ole' American fun in the country where we celebrate with pride the USA!!  And as tradition goes, it always includes the Vaclaw's firework show!

We love going out to the farm to watch the firework show.  

The kids play...

 The women talk (Amanda Vaclaw and I)...

 and the boys blow things up!!

 Once it gets dark, the glow toys come out before the BIG glow toys, aka fireworks, light up the sky!  Ashton and Kate Hubbard waiting patiently for the big show.

 We found some pretty cool glow in the dark items this year!  Austin is sporting some fun glow glasses.

As always, the show was a HUGE success!  The amount of fireworks and the music that goes with it brings my patriotic pride right to the surface and always makes me proud to be an American!  Sharing some fun times with my friend Megan Hubbard.  

Gymnastics!!

The girls begged and begged me to put them into gymnastics this summer, and I caved.  Austin and Avery both did golf camp, and then on top of that Austin had baseball and Avery had soccer- so I needed to have the girls be involved in something and this seemed like a good idea.

 And believe me, it WAS a good idea!  Not only were they good at it, but they loved it!

 We went two times a week, but everyday when they woke up they asked me if it was gymnastic day.

 And ever since summer has been over.... they ask me if they can go back to gymnastics.  I think I'm about to cave again!

I figured this would once again be the last time we did gymnastics.  I had already thought this once before and got rid of all their cute leotards.  So this summer I just bought shorts and tank tops to wear because I didn't want to spend the money on leotards again for just a summer... but we might have to invest in a couple!  I love this picture of Ashton and Sam!  The Christiansen's and the Hubbard's also took this summer which made it fun for me to have friends to talk to too!  So who knows... there might be more gymnastic pictures in years to come!