IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

Nope it is not Christmas that sets this Mommy into an excited tissy...its BACK TO SCHOOL! Brock is off to 5 day preschool and Chase is in THIRD grade. I cannot believe that I have a THIRD GRADER! Its amazing how fast time is going. Chase had an awesome day of school...minus no air conditioning in his class portable. Brock had a great day with all his buds. Micheal hit him in the head and Brock told me "tomorrow he is going down!" I better warn the teacher because I believe him! My first day at school was ok. I felt our professor thinks we are all 12. Maybe it is necessary considering we are playing with live bacteria and flaming bunson burners. I got to transfer E-coli from one test tube to another. I cant wait until Weds. when we get to see if I did it right or not! I have a silly online class and it took me forever to figure out how to navigate the website. Anyway enjoy the pictures...no I did not model my new PAK-PACK (Brocks word).

Saying Goodbye to Summer.

What a wonderful summer we had. We spent most of our time at the pool with our friends. Brock has a fear of the water but by the end of the summer he was a little more relaxed. Next year I am sure he will be a little fishy. Last night we celebrated with a water baloon fight. Nothing says brotherly love better. Its the only time they are allowed to physically violate each other with out a time out....very cathartic sibling therapy.

Here are some pictures of our end of summer trip to the beach in Galveston. We had a blast.






We also had a visit from my BFF Angie and her family from Idaho. It was great to get to spend some time together with our kiddos...even if her husband was there too! Just kidding NIC we love you too! Angie and I used to have lots and lots of adult fun back in the good ole days.



Lucy and Chase are the same age...she makes him look like a squirt!

Experiments!

Brock's experiments started with putting random items in the freezer. They have now escalated to out of control. It is nothing for me to find dead bugs frozen in water glasses in the freezer. Last week I woke up to Max puking eggs...raw eggs with shells. I try to keep my house neat and tiddy and I was pretty sure that the eggs are always kept in the fridge...on the top shelf. Brock woke up around the same time and gasped "I did not put the eggs behind the chair last night!" So there behind the chair was a dozen eggs (oops minus the one Max devoured), a mixing bowl and fork! If this was bad last nights experiment took a gold medal...well silver to today's. While at dinner at a friends house Brock took his ice cream and mixed it together with several varieties of left over drinks. This latest experiment was discovered when the dog spilled it and tracked it all over their beautiful hardwood floors. I am really at my wits end. He is very seldom left alone...I think he waits for us turn our heads and strikes. WELL... this morning was the gold medal winner. We woke up and Brock was already awake. Yes I know I should be up before the kids. The problem is that while I worked so hard to adjust their schedules for school time I put little effort towards my own adjustment period. Well professor Brock had struck again. This time cutting open unfrozen freeze pops and painting the kitchen floor....the bright red ones to ensure staining of grout. Oh and then there was the army men, marbles and coffee concoction to top off the later half of the morning. Needless to say I cant wait for school to start. And I will be setting my alarm clock even on the weekends. I wish I would have had the wits about me to take a beautiful picture of his handy work but I was too ANGRY (insert a more colorful word here if you will) to think straight.

Brock Update!

Its official he is "on the Potty Train"...his words not mine. He has had a few accidents but for the most part he has it down. My Mr. Independent! He had a rough day today. It is always hard when Chase has a friend over. He is the Pestiest Little Brother. We have had to revisit the time out rug...yes I sometimes watch Supper Nanny...just to remind myself that my parenting is not that bad. Today while fighting the time out he declared he was running away and out the front door he went. I was so tired of his behavior and slightly amused with this idea. I watched him out the front window. Dawn called and we were both watching him...laughing of course. I'm sure my neighbors love us. He was wearing his latest uniform...nothing but his prized big boy underwear. He wandered around the front yard never leaving the confinements of our property looking at bugs and of course he had to pull his undies down and water the grass! Daun finally asked him what he was doing outside alone. He said he no longer lives in the house. She told him to watch out for strangers. Shortly after she went back inside he came running into the house. He told me he was back and went and did the time out with out complaining! He always finds a way to bring a smile to my face in the mist of his cloud of chaos!

Wild Hair

We had plans all week to go to Galveston on Sunday and fish on the beach. The kids LOVE it...we all do. I even have my own pink pole. :) Saturday as we were watching Chase's basketball game I half heartily said we should go tonight and camp. I am the spontaneous one...Joe loves a plan. I almost fell of the bleachers when he said "We will have to buy a smaller tent." So we packed up and headed off. What an awesome time we had. We lit a campfire and Brock toasted a marshmallow for the first time...we learned he does not like a smore but will eat all the ingredients separately. We put the boys to bed and Joe and I sat and enjoyed a few brewski's by the fire (yes Joe who does not drink polished off a six pack in one evening). It would have been so romantic had it not been for the boys fighting in the tent and our "neighbors" drinking more heavily than us. For fear of being eaten alive by the deet immune mosquitoes (they came out in droves when the sun came down...who packs long sleeves and pants when it is 101?) We headed off to bed at 10:00. I had managed to talk our friends Ed and Donna (so so gullible they are) into joining us. They showed up at midnight, just as I had finally began to block out the cackling drunk girl from the other camp. So I got up to greet them and of course to laugh at Ed while he set up his tent in the dark...what are good friends for? Donna and I ended up stay up until 3:30 in the morning laughing at the drunks next to us...of course they were the only ones on the beach. :) Just as Donna and I returned from a long walk to a LOCKED public bathroom Brock was coming out of the tent...hungry at 3:30...just a "should have been sleeping mom's" dream. I finally get him settled back to bed when Chase sits straight up and says "Help, I have been attacked by the sand." It was hot in the tent (despite our battery powered fans) so he had taken off his clothes and apparently rolled in the sand that I so carefully tried to keep from the tent! Then Joe woke up and all of us declared we would never again camp on the beach. So I think I got to sleep around 4:30ish...just after our oh so fun neighbors. So up at 8 we go and fish fish fish.

The kids are amazing at the beach. It is like a free sitter. They spend all day catching tons of "hermies" (hermit crabs) and holding the Hermie Olympics. I think you would have to walk out a good 1/2 mile to get water that is deeper than 3 ft. so there is little fear of drowning. I just love it. Brocks funny this time is when the Hermies were escaping and he started yelling "Hey I think we have a situation here!" Chase's funny this time was his wild hair. I am not sure if it was from the hat he wore in the early morning or the wind but it stood up straight 3 inches off his head. Were talking Rod Stuart hair. It was great. I could hardly look at him with out laughing out loud. My only regret about our spur of the moment trip would be leaving my camera at home!!!

Oh and on the long drive home just before Brock and I passed out in the car we all decided that despite sand in every unmentionable part of our bodies we WOULD love to camp again on the beach.