Football Frenzy!

After a month of practice 3 times a week, football season has finally kicked off! Last night was the Jamboree for all the pee wee 1 teams. They played 10 minute intervals to get the kids acclimated to being on the field with officials and all. Since it's Ayden's first year playing, they have him on the line for now. He's starting to understand that every job is important, and you don't necessarily have to have the ball in your hands to make a difference. He really likes being a part of the team, and the coaches are great! We're in SEC country now so it's serious business! Before the first practice the coaches made sure that everyone understood that they're here to win- no playing around. Whoever had a problem was free to leave. They've done an excellent job teaching the boys discipline and patience. I'm excited to see what the season holds for the Cowboys. Yes. I know. The Cowboys..what do ya do?? 10 minutes= 2 possessions= 2 touchdowns! It's looking good!

We tried and tried to talk Jaelin into cheering for the team, but there was just no way we could convince her! She probably would have rather been on the field with the boys.

First Day of School....already?!

So last Thursday was the first day of school. Ayden is now a 1st grader and Jaelin a kindergartener. Seriously, for real? It's so weird having them both gone for the entire school day! I'm so glad that we got little Zoey- she keeps me from talking to myself anyway. Kind of. Okay, so anyway, first day of school- yeah. :) The kids HAD to ride the bus the first day. They were super excited, and Jaelin finally gets to see what it's like to go to "big kid" school. The bus drivers here are so great! They go off their route to come right up to the driveways of the littler kids. When their teachers asked them what their favorite thing about school was so far they both replied, "riding the bus!"

I'm so glad that they both like their teachers! It's so important at this stage. Jaelin got Ms. Pratt, Ayden's old teacher, and Ayden got Ms. Donaldson. They both have an "All About Me" project due at the end of the month, and they can't wait to do their homework every night! How long might that last??

Recap...

I can't believe that summer vacation is over already! It has been a good one though. I was fortunate enough to have old friends come visit, take a long road trip with David, the kids, and Zoey (Oh yes, we are now dog owners.), and have my parents here for a few days.

Tanna and Daniel are such wonderful people that I know from many years ago! I think we figured it to be about 12 years since we've seen one another. Needless to say, it was really nice to see them, and the kids just adored them both! David, again, was in Mississippi, but he'll see them next time.

Maine was so much fun- it's hard for me to even sum it up. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to go because of the way that David's training fell. It was leaning towards no, so we were pretty dead set that we were just going to stay home over the 4th. This family reunion had been planned for a very, very long time, but the military stops for no personal plans! We informed the family that we wouldn't be there, and there was nothing we could do. It eventually turned out that we were going to be able to go, but we decided to leave it as a surprise and just show up at the camp. We drove for 25 hours straight and I got a speeding ticket (of course) before we decided to stop for the night. We didn't bother checking for a pet friendly hotel so naturally this is when Zoey discovered she had a bark. Luckily there were no complaints. We drove the rest of the way the following morning just in time for wonderful conversation over coffee. It was so awesome to be able to surprise everyone- it had been so, so long since we'd seen the whole family together. The cousins jumped right in and started playing like they never missed a beat. There were so many laughs over the campfire and many old stories that brought back some great memories. Grandma is dearly missed, but I know she was right in there with us all!

Welcome to the camp! Grandpa and David

Bridgton's 4th of July ParadeDavid showing off a bit.Lobster Bake- YUM!Brooke, Dawn, and MeDavid wakeboarding at sunset.

Little Zoey after a swim in the lake. The guys having cigars out on the dock.

Cute cousins!

I wish I could post all of the pictures I took, but 400 something is a lot!

Finally, on the way home from Maine, we stopped at my moms and dropped the kiddos off for 2 weeks! It was kind of nerve wrecking for me to be gone from them for so long, but everything turned out okay. Ayden had to go to the ER, as usual, so that was already expected. They had fun, but I think they were glad to be home too. My mom and Bob drove them back and stayed with us for a few days. We went to the beach a lot, out to dinner, and David and my mom had a margarita or 6. First time on the ATVAbout to be kid-free. Yikes!Beer in a mason jar- ole West VirginiaMom tormenting Jaelin.

Glad to have our babies back!

Louise...

When we received orders to come back out to Florida, I was immediately on the hunt to find a place to live. Since we've worked with Prudential in the past I decided to call one of their offices in this area to get set up with a realtor. By dumb luck we got hooked up with Louise. She is such a remarkable, incredible, wonderful, genuine, sweet, loving person! I'm just sorry that it took 5 months for us to finally meet face to face. She will always be a dear friend to me and our family.

While David was in Mississippi the kids and I went out with Louise, Doug, and Daisy on their boat. We had so much fun!

The kids headed for the boat!

Daisy digging for her sand crab...

and she never disappoints!

The kids swimming with "mammal Louise"

Daisy shared her bow of the boat with the kids.

So when David and I had our 2 "kidless" weeks in July, we went out with Louise and Doug. We cruised through Navarre and Pensacola Beach, stopping for a drink at Bamboo Willies and making the occasional stop at one of the beaches. While we were out we found ourselves in the middle of a slew of dolphins! It was the coolest thing!

A washed up boat on one of the beaches.

Louise and me

David and me

Jaelin Jargon

David had just left for the week to go back to Biloxi and Jaelin was distraught. She says, "Mom, can I sleep with you tonight?" Of course, by me deciding to answer either way it poses a problem between whining and the arguing about it with Ayden. I decide on "no" since the whining will probably be easier to deal with. Her reply? "But Mooooooom!! I neeeeeed to sleep with you because I just want to smell Daddy's pillow!"

I made teriyaki pork stir fry for dinner one night. I had never made this particular recipe, and the kids ended up loving it. Jaelin said, "Mom, I want leftovers for lunch tomorrow." I told her I was sorry, but there wasn't any leftover. Wrong answer. "But Mom, when I like something you make for dinner, I want leftovers!"

Happy Digging--I mean Anniversary!

Since we got here just in time for our 6 year anniversary and we have a new yard to landscape all over again, I found it only fitting to plant our "love tree" again! David was already digging the hole for that so I thought, "why not go ahead and get the money corner out of the way too??" heehee. All in all we planted the flowering cherry, an orange tree, and 2 types of hibiscus bushes. Ayden, of course, asked, "what? are we trying to make this house look the same?" Thanks buddy!

Finishing Up the School Year

I know, I'm 2 months behind on posts but better late than never, right? After talking with Antioch Elementary, we decided to go ahead and enroll Ayden to finish up the school year. The teachers and guidance counselor were a little worried since kindergarten was only 1/2 day in Utah. Here it's a full day so they thought he would probably need some catching up to prepare for the 1st grade curriculum. Wrong. He did wonderfully, and quite frankly I think Buffalo Point Elementary exceeded what they teach the kids here. I suppose that's bittersweet in this case.

As soon as we had him registered and started up in school, we got right into the swing of things. The school was having their annual "Aviator Day," so the kids and I decided to go join in. (David was in Biloxi, Mississippi for his instructor course). The kids had fun with the cake walk, ring toss, and a variety of other games the school had put on. At the end of the evening we walked out with a bottle of orange soda, compliments of Ayden, and 2 cakes that we ended up sharing with our neighbors, compliments of Jaelin. Football Toss- He made it through everytime. The girl had to keep backing him up!Before Cake #2...boy oh boy

One last time before it was time to go home...

oooh....yay...hmmm

Every year the Kindergarten classes (9 of them, to be exact, yes 9!) take a field trip at the end of the year to Henderson State Park. They are able to swim, BBQ, and learn about the sea life in our area. Jaelin and I tagged along, and it was a lot of fun. We got to meet so many parents, kids, and get to know the teachers better. It was a great way for Ayden to get acclimated and get to know some of his peers he'll be schooling it up with for at least the next 4 years!

Making their way off the buses and up to the picnic area.

Ayden and Ms. Pratt

Ms. Pratt's Kindergarten Class