{Clutter}

Clutter, clutter, clutter.  Why does clutter haunt me.  From looking at my desk you might think I haven't cleaned or organized it in weeks.  The truth, just yesterday morning I cleaned it all off.  It is a dumping place for all stray papers, toys, and apparently personal grooming implements.  It is also a breeding ground for paper.  I swear there is a varmint that eats socks from the dryer and a mother paper that is continually popping out baby paper.

There is the cup of water because I am trying to drink what feels like a swimming pool amount each day.  My planner, with days that seem to fill up without my permission.  The piece of paper front right.  Yeah that one with all the red on it.  Those are my notes from being on the phone with the bank.  Someone from who knows what country decided to use my debit card to sign himself up for a porn subscription.  Nice.  I have a stack of bills to be paid and then filed.  I have a stack of photography books that I want to get read.  That seems to be always on the back burner lately.  A box of tissues to wipe snotty noses or to entice a certain four year old that tissues are better than his finger when he needs to get that big booger up his right nostril.  A piece of paper torn out of a Boy's Life magazine with books that Ayden wants to read.  Here is to hoping he finds a book series that entices him to read.  He reads, it is just usually Calvin and Hobbs or Garfield Comic books. Junk mail that has yet to make it to the recycling bin.  I could go on and on.  From the surface it just looks like clutter, but on closer inspection it is the story of my life.  A good, busy, chaotic, and sometimes crazy life but mine nonetheless.  There are days that I wish my house was immaculate but in truth I want my home to feel lived in.  Tidy and clean, yes, but lived in too.  I will continue on in my battle with clutter but every once in a while I'll stop and look at the story it tells about my life.    

{On a Leaf Hunt}

We went on a leaf hunt yesterday.  This month in preschool we are talking about Autumn and what changes happen during that time of the year.  We have done several crafts with leaves, apples, corn and pumpkins.  Since yesterday was such a nice day I thought going on a leaf hunt would be the perfect thing to do.  At first Wyatt wasn't so enthusiastic about it.  But I gave him his bag and I told him we would only walk around the block and he finally relented. 

It didn't take long for him to get into the fun of leaf hunting.  We were hunting for all kinds of leaves.  Small ones, big ones, red ones, yellow ones.  We didn't even get around the block before his bag was full.

Home we came to investigate our findings.  Don't let his face (below) fool you.  He was excited as he went through each leaf and told me the color and if it was big or small or all dried up (yup we picked up several of those too)!

I asked him to pick out his favorite leaf and this is the one he chose.  I think that was my favorite one too!!

Then he found a stick and it became his mustache.  With that the leaf hunt was over and it was time for snacks.

Today is the first official day of Autumn.  There are still tons of leaves in the trees that we will be raking up into piles in no time at all.  We may not be as fond of the leaves when we are done with all the raking, but for now I don't mind the leaves falling.  It is a sure sign that my favorite season is upon us.  Happy Fall y'all!!

{Tenderfoot}

Ayden is off and running with Boy Scouts.  The other night was his first Court of Honor as a Boy Scout and he earned his first rank of Tenderfoot and his first merit badge in Reading.  He has since finished two more merit badges and is pretty close on a few more.  He is really enjoying scouts and Ryan and I love that he is doing something productive and that he is learning a variety of things.  We are also thankful that he has some great young men to look up in our troop.  Good examples do make a huge difference.  I am really proud of Ayden and the hard work he has put in.  Way to go!

{NASCAR - Richmond International Speedway}

 Everyone has a bucket list right?  I have a bucket list of things I would love to do before I die.  Travel the world, sleep in until I want to get up, ya know really good stuff.  As a family we have one and Ryan has his own as well.  Well a few weekends ago we got to check something off of Ryan's bucket list.  Going to a NASCAR race.

 I am not exactly sure when the fondness for NASCAR began for Ryan.  He is basically your typical sports loving guy.  I believe he is genetically programmed to know what channels ESPN broadcasts over.  But when you say NASCAR people generally think "REDNECKS".  I know I kinda do.  And I guess truth be told, I guess I do have some redneck tendencies.  Such as I have always moved (when I was moving myself) in a horse trailer, I know how to skin an animal, and I have used duct tape to repair my shoes (thanks Dad for that one).  Maybe Ryan got a little redneck when he married me, I don't know but the truth is my husband loves NASCAR.

Living close enough to a major race track has had Ryan seeing stars since we moved here.  When the schedule for this season NASCAR races came out Ryan was on it like white on rice.  We budgeted out money for the tickets and we waited not really very patiently for the day to call for tickets to come.  The day finally came and we bought our tickets.  Sadly we had to wait like 5 months for the race to come.

Finally it was time to head to Richmond, Va to experience our first NASCAR race.  Wouldn't ya know it though, there was a significant chance of rain.  We prayed it would hold out until after the race but, we knew there was a good chance it wouldn't.  We set out well before the race because all the info we had read said traffic is terrible on race days.  Well wouldn't ya know it, there was absolutely no traffic and we got there two hours before we had planned to.  It would have been good had we planned to tailgate or something but we didn't.  We got to the parking lot, parked and realized we had to entertain the kids for like 5 hours until the race started.  With the majority of the spectators in the beginning stages of an alcohol binge, Ryan and I looked at each other a little concerned.  Lucky for us though there was a kids area complete with bounce houses and the Virginia Science Center had multiple experiments and crafts for the kids to do.  It literally saved our bacon.

The only problem was that it was hot, like 90 degrees hot.  So the kids were melting, but they managed to pull through and survive.  We ate dinner and that is when the weather started to change just a little.  We kept watching the clouds, praying the storm was going to miss us.  We moved to the amphitheatre when we started to feel a few rain drops.  It looked like the storm might in fact miss us so we started heading to our section in the stands, which was thankfully a family section so it was alcohol and smoke free.  By the time we got to our gate and headed into the stadium, the rain came.  We didn't bring jackets, or ponchos or anything.  Not an hour earlier it was 90 degrees remember.  Everyone that had come to see the race was huddling under the bleachers trying to stay dry.  Ponchos were flying off the souvenir shelves faster than you could say start your engines.  We bought some and tried to stay dry as best as we could.  The heaviest rain started when the race was supposed to start.  It was inevitable.  There would be a race delay.  How long?  We weren't sure, we just knew it was going to be a loooong night.

Finally the rain did stop and the track dryers came out and the race started two hours later than it should.  Those track dryers are the bomb diggity.  They are jet engines strapped onto a truck and are incredibly loud, but they sure get the track dry quick.

I have watched a few races on t.v. and they are alright.  I don't think though that I have managed to stay awake for an entire one.  Something about going around and around in a circle that makes my eyes tired.  The same cannot be said for watching a race in person.  The sound of the engines is incredible and you can feel a rumble in your chest when the cars come around the corner.  Really pretty cool.  Wyatt said it best when he said "This is so awesome Mom".

Well it was pretty great for the first 152 laps.  Then the lovely rain decided to come back.  They kept the cars racing but just slower to keep the track warm but the rain wouldn't let up so they red flagged it.  By this time it was after 11 at night.  Three of the four kids were asleep and we weren't sure when the rain would stop.  We waited for another 30 minutes, but when Wyatt started shivering like he was having a seizure we called it.  We had experienced our first NASCAR race.  While we didn't get to stay for the checkered flag (the race ended when we got home at like 2am) it was still an adventure and we want to go back for another one.  The kids had fun, Mom and Dad had fun and we got to check something off of Ryan's bucket list.  A pretty successful Saturday if you ask me.
  

{Preschool 2012}

(A riveting game of I Spy)

The day after Labor Day, when the older kids went back to school, Wyatt got to start preschool.  He has been waiting, sometimes not so patiently, to get to go to school like the bigger kids.  It must be a condition of the youngest in the family.  Always wanting to do what everyone else is doing, believing infatically that you are big enough for everything.  Wyatt has it and has it bad.  But that is what makes him so darn fun too.  And much to his credit he is able to do a lot that you wouldn't think a four year old could do.

I have sent the older three kids off to preschool the year before Kindergarten.  Really only to give them some social opportunities, out under my wing.  They all knew their letters, numbers, colors, shapes and how to write their name.  I wasn't expecting the preschool experience to teach them those things.  Well since Wyatt is the youngest, and I don't have another baby needing my time, I decided that I would do preschool with him at home instead of sending him to a preschool.  Another reason I chose to keep him home is that I really didn't want to pay the amount most preschools out here in my neck of the woods request (think a really nice car payment).  I figured I definitely had the time and Wyatt and I could enjoy the last year before I boot him out of the nest so to speak.

I found a great preschool curriculum, called the Learning Box Preschool, which provides everything you need to do preschool at your home.  They give you all the lessons, outlined.  All the craft supplies, usually all cut and ready.  Plus all the supplies that you need to set up a classroom.  We are in our third week, and so far it is a success.  Wyatt gets through the material quickly but he is learning and so I am pleased.  I augment the curriculum with activity sheets and library visits and it seems to be just enough of what he needs.  I think this year will do a fine job of preparing him for Kindergarten next year.

Here is to a great year of Mom preschool!!

{Harpers Ferry}

 We went to Harper's Ferry this year again for Labor Day.  Can you call it tradition if you have only done it twice?  I think you can, there is a pattern right?  We were worried that rain might cancel the whole day but we got lucky and it was only overcast.  It was cooler too which was welcomed.  We also came much better prepared than we did last year.  Last year I had read on the website about the river being swift moving and you had to really be careful of swimming in it.  So I didn't bring any swimsuits last year thinking that everyone else probably wasn't going to swim under those conditions.  Well I was wrong.  Everyone else brought suits and were fully prepared to go swimming.  The kids let me know how wrong I was for not bringing them.  Well this year I got the memo and we brought everyone's suits.  As luck would have it, the river was much higher this year and the current much swifter.  I tell ya if I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all!!  The Dads were there and helped the kiddos swim and everyone made it out of the river safe and sound.      So no worries.  I stayed on the shore watching my little ones hunt for shells and make a shell garden.  I also got to visit with my friends uninterrupted, which was much appreciated.
Again keeping with tradition, after the river we made our way over to the Historic Harper's Ferry to enjoy some delicious ice cream.  A little over priced, but I guess if we do it only once a year we can budget ahead for it right?  The kids thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with friends and Ryan and I did as well.  I like this tradition, I think we will do it again next year!!

{Back to School 2012}

A few days after Grandma and Grandpa left, the kids headed back to school.  I feel like I just posted about the last day of school and here we are back to school already.  The kids were excited though and I think they were ready to head back to the routine of school.  This year is a bit of a change for our family.  We have three kids in three different schools.  Ayden headed to middle school, Meysa moved up to the 3rd-5th grade school and Lauryn is still at the K-2nd grade school.  That means three different start times and three different get home times.  If you thought you had a lot of paperwork to fill out at the beginning of the year think of that multiplied by three.  Lots of fun for Mom!!  It is going to be a good year though.  The kids have already settled into their classes and love their teachers (yes it has taken me almost a month of school to finally post pics).

 Ayden is the first one to leave in the morning.  He is loving middle school.  I of course didn't get pictures of him with all 7 of his teachers.  That would have been embarrassing for him.  I totally would have done it though.  He is doing well and has adjusted to the changing of classes and keeping track of all of his assignments.

Lauryn is the next one to leave for the day.  She still gets to ride the bus.  She thankfully isn't alone though now that Meysa has moved up to a new school.  Her little friend Clementine rides the bus with her this year. She loves her teacher Mrs. Torres.  And apparently the word on the street is we won the lottery when we got assigned to Mrs. Torres' class.  I hear she is a fabulous teacher and everyone wants to be in her class.  From the times I have spoken with her and have been in her class she seems great.  So we will thank our lucky stars I guess!!

Meysa moved up to a new school this year.  She is pretty excited to be in the "bigger" school.  Her teacher this year is Mr. Stone.  He seems like a real nice guy.  Other parents say he is nice but doesn't mess around either, so I think this year will be a good one for Meysa.  She is feeling older due to the fact that she gets to ride her bike to school with her friend Lily.  She is growing up, too fast I might add.

And not be left out, this little guy isn't going into the Third grade thank heavens, but he so badly wanted a first day of school picture.  Even though we didn't start his preschool until after Labor Day I guess this will have to count.  Just imagine the sign says First Day of Preschool.
Here is to a great school year!!

{Brookside Gardens}

Thursday we kinda took a day off due to Ayden having a morning long orientaion at Middle School.  So it ended up being a catch up day and a respite from the heat and humidity.  So Friday, Don and Faith's last day in town, we went to a really neat place right here in town.  It is called Brookside Gardens and it is pure relaxation.  I wanted to curl up on a bench and read a book.  It is a collection of  beautiful gardens, all types. It was really a nice day, a little overcast and a little cooler too.  Papa promised the kids a surprise if they were good, and for the most part they were.  If you don't count the multiple fights over who got to ride in the double stroller and who got to push the stroller.  Papa took pity on the kids anyways and took them out to Chick Fil-A.  One of our favorite places to eat.  

Friday night for Don and Faith is usually pizza night so that is what we had for dinner.  We also got a movie to watch, Big Miracle, which was a good flick.  It was a great way to end a good week with Papa Don and Grandma Faith.  We were so thankful that they came to visit and we can't wait until we see them again.