Back to School

School started again this week. Railey is in the 3rd grade this year. Mrs. Delna Bliss is her teacher. She started back on Wednesday. She was happy to go back. She really likes her teacher. She came home so excited about her new class, and she was happy to see her friends from school. I am so glad she enjoys school. I can only hope that continues.
The boys started preschool this year. I can't believe my babies are old enough to go to school. They were so excited they could hardly stand it. They were excited to ride the bus. All 4 kids get on the same bus at 7:30. And I thought that getting everyone ready for church by 9:00 was hard. Guess that will be easy now. As soon as the bus came to a stop at our bus stop, the boys just took off and got on. They didn't even hardly tell me goodbye. I thought I would melt and cry when they left but I DID NOT CRY!! They think they are so grown up now. I told them I would follow the bus the first day to make sure they made it and then I could walk them to their classrooms. When we got to the classrooms they headed right in and started playing. So I left and had a few hours to myself. A FEW HOURS TO MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really strange and quiet. But I don't think it will take me long to get used to. The preschool/kindergarten bus drops them off right in front of our house so I don't even have to go to the bus stop. They had a great day and are very happy to be big school boys. They LOVE that they each have their own backpack. They had all kinds of things to tell me about their day. It was really cute. Our babies are growing up!!

Railey's first day of 3rd Grade

The boys in front of the bus after school

Ranger

Ryder

Robby

Hummimgbird

We have had a lot of fun watching the hummingbirds this summer. We put a feeder out on the deck next to the sliding glass door. They come in and drink all day long. My kids get excited every time. We sit in the kitchen or out on the swing on the deck and just watch them and listen to them hum as they fly by.

Our Garden of 2010

Our garden this year is doing great. We planted a few weeks later this year because the weather was so crazy this spring but things are really going nuts now. We planted cantaloupe, pumpkins, watermelons, carrots, onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, habaneros, tons of tomatoes, crookneck, zucchini, cucumbers, cherry and grape tomatoes, honeydew melons, and a ton of green beans. We also planted giant mammoth sunflowers. Some of them are about 8 ft. tall and just starting to open. The kids have had a lot of fun watching them get so big. We have a few pumpkins but one of them is around 50 lbs already. The green beans have gone crazy. Rob now calls me beaner. This last week I picked 2 overflowing 5 gallon buckets full. I've been picking them about once a week. So far I have bottled around 70 quarts. Guess its a good thing I love green beans. My tomato plants are loaded and are now starting to ripen. All my peppers have done awesome. I can't believe the amount each plant can hold. I picked a 5 gallon bucket of bell peppers yesterday. I have already put a lot in the freezer so I gave all of them away. We have been very blessed with our garden this year. I guess all that praying we did for it must have worked. Its nice to see all the time and work we have put into it pay off. And its a lot prettier to look at than all the weeds and stuff that was back there before.

Railey's Baptism

Railey was baptized this last Saturday. It was a great day. She has been excited to be baptized for a long time. She was baptized in the church in Leamington about a 10 minute drive away because our church here in Oak City does not have a font. The baptism was at 11:00. Grandpa (Jerry) said the opening prayer, I gave a spotlight, Grandma (Kaye) gave a talk and Rob baptized and confirmed her. Her primary teacher (John Kapler) said the closing prayer. She chose the songs "When Jesus Christ was baptized" and "When I am baptized" for her music. It was simple yet very nice. Afterwards we went back to our house and had a dinner (menu of Railey's choice.) Marinaded grilled chicken, dutch oven potatoes, corn on the cob and rolls. It was yummy. Railey couldn't wait to eat "dutch" potatoes. That is what she calls them. And we have Grandpa to thank for cooking them for us. For dessert there was apple pie and ice cream or ice cream cones. It was great day. In sacrament meeting on Sunday she was called up on the stand and they presented her with her certificate and a triple combination. Then in primary they did a spotlight on her. She felt pretty special. She looked so pretty in her white dress and the white flower Grandma gave her in her hair. It's hard to see her grow up so fast but its wonderful to see her make good choices. We are so proud of her and love her so much.

Happy Birthday Railey!!

Railey celebrated her 8th birthday on August 4th. It's hard to believe she is 8. She had a little party with a few friends. She got to have 2 cakes. One for the party and then another for the family. She got a new bike and helmet from mom and dad. She was pretty excited. This bike has gears which she thought was awesome and now she loves it because she can ride with us and keep up. Her and Rob have been going for bike rides in the evenings. This bike should last her a few years. She got a lot of nice cards in the mail from different family and friends, along with some money which she quickly decided what to spend it on. All in all she had a good birthday.

Ryder Teaches Himself

Ryder taught himself how to ride a bike without training wheels. He went outside and stole Ranger's bike and just started riding. The kids came in one day from outside and said "Mom! Ryder is riding Ranger's bike all by himself." So I go look and sure enough he was riding all over the place. He came up to me and said, "I'm so cool cause I teached myself." He was pretty proud of himself. So we took the training wheels off his bike too. I have to admit though, they are a little scary. They act as if they have been riding forever. Now they try to pop wheelies and come skidding to a stop. Crazy boys!! I only wonder how many ER visits we have in our future.