Ben:

"...and he said the boy was beautiful." says he, with horror.  "Boys are not beautiful..... They're awwwesome!"  Duh.

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

We woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise, leapt out of bed thinking we were all on time all morning...but the first day of school almost guarantees that everything will take longer than you thought. 

First, I'd promised the girls that I would do french braids for them.  I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, french braids qualify as a craft.  Yes, they do.  It requires dexterity and patience, two of my least favorite things.  I know that many of you out there think that's a bit of an exaggeration, but that may be because you have girls with American Girl Doll hair.  Even I can french braid on an American Girl Doll.  But I'm gritting my teeth and holding my breath and the girls sit as still as statues cause they know I'm one hair away from bursting into tears...ok, that's a little much, but really truly, it's hard!

I think we pulled it off, the girls seemed pleased anyway and then we sat down to a feast of donuts and bacon, with a side of milk (cause I need at least one good-mom moment today).

Oh, they look so cute!!!

My 5th grader.  So grown up!

My 2nd grader, who not-so-secretly wishes that I was much more pinterest-y.  She's gonna rock 1st day for her kids, I can tell!

(Sadly, she ran off to school and forgot all about changing into her new earrings!  I guess that's what second day is for!)

My sassy kindergartener. 

My 4th grader!  He almost got out of the house without his glasses...nice try, little guy!  :)

 

My favorite little people!  I'm really gonna miss them!

Arrived at school with 20 minutes to spare, but this cutie took some time to say good-bye to, cause he's such a sweetie!

Sits next to his cuz, Hudson.

Sara's class was super-busy by the time we got there, so we squeezed in one quick-pic!

Will didn't give me too much trouble when I took his pic.  I think it's cause he was looking so killer, he just couldn't care!

We popped into 5th grade at 8:28.  Apparently, 5th grade starts promptly at 8:30.  I didn't have a chance to take a good pic, so I just rubberneck-flashed on my way out the door.  Kayte was pretending she could see through me, cause she was already on high-alert.  That girl is so studious!

The morning flew by, of course, and then I headed back to pick this cherub up at school.  He had an AWESOME day!  And he got a sucker!  I feel like we were just here, celebrating the first day of preschool...how time does fly!

Whew.  Next year, I'm booking a massage for this day, haha!

I caught a BIG one!

...and I even have a picture to prove it!

The kids were spending the night at the grandparents on Friday, so Joe and I decided to take advantage of our freedom by getting out on the river Saturday morning.  It takes a little wooing to talk me into a 4:30 am wake-up call for anything but a trip to Paris, but I was actually looking forward to a quiet morning on the water with my favorite person, so I ironed my big-girl pants and we hit the road:

It's just so strange to watch the sun rise.  It feels a little like the world is rotating backwards...but then, I've never been a morning person.

Joe told me to make sure I hooked the fish good, so the first time a fish tapped my line, I gave it a good yank.  Apparently, you need the fish to sniff it out first and then yank.  Fortunately, I got a second chance:

Me, fighting the fish.  Check out that form, ladies.  Really truly....I fish like a girl.

SEE!!!!  I did it!!!

The fish leapt into the air twice, and I was really scared I was gonna lose it before I could get it to Joe's waiting net.  Don't ask me why, but it felt distinctly like labor.  I was scared that it would leap out of the boat before we got a proper pic.  Which is why the poor fish's head is unsupported.  We had to put it back in the water cause it was wild, but I felt better about that anyway.  I didn't want to kill the first catch ever!  Way too much love was exchanged in that fight.  (I would've loved to eat it, just not kill it.  I shop at Winco for a reason.)

Ahh, the jitters!  So fun!!!

Joe tried to forgive me when my line got all messy and I couldn't hook the last nudge of the day.  But I think he's almost over it.  If he got to eat fish that night, it might've been an easier loss.... :)

A little bit of an anniversary...

So Joe & I were cleaning out closets the other day and came across his box of annuals from school.  We dug them out and flipped through them, and in the 1993/94 book, we found this little gem:

I'm not sure who we were chaperoning (likely K & E) and you have to have some deep respect for the circles over all my "i"s.  That skill takes effort. 

But what I love the most was the note's total obliviousness to the fact that someday I was gonna rush down the aisle on this guy's arm and have lots of babies with him and grow old(ish) together.  I was a snobby-superior senior headed off to college and Joe a super-young sophomore, little bro to my BFF.  Romantic inclinations towards each other were non-existent.

So I think God had a good chuckle when He wrote our story.  He let us grow up together, and gave us loads of close memories and let us keep some of them.  And He watched as we passed each other in the hall all those years, and when my bed-headed self sat across from Joe at a breakfast table with his family some morning, and when we took off together for Youth Leg. in Boise one spring. 

Six years after I wrote this flirty little note, and thirteen years ago today, Joe popped the question and our story together began.

Happy {engagement} Anniversary Joe, I'm so glad you picked me!

Last official day of summer...

...and God played it well with a big old monstrous 360 degree thunderstorm, just late enough in the evening to keep the kids up past bedtime.  It was perfect.

I can tell all the kids are getting excited to head back, even Will (Mr. Nonchalant) can't actually deny it.  Kayte said she felt it's a little like Christmas Eve, her tummy was flip-flopping.  Sara's pretty excited cause I promised her I'd let her take her studs out and pick out some earrings for the first day.  And she insisted on matching my exact nail colors.

But my little Ben, I caught him testing himself out to be sure he was ready:

My mom, kindergarten teacher extraordinaire, says that by kindergarten a child should be able to reach over the top of his head and touch the tip of his ear.  Toddlers' arms aren't long enough to do this, so it is the ultimate big-kid skill.  They are certain to try this out the first day in mom's class, and Ben was sure to be ready...my little babe in kindergarten, it'll kill you if you let it.

But even harder to take, might be my oldest baby, headed to Mr. Kohl's 5th grade tomorrow.  (Mr. Kohl was Joe's 5th grade teacher and we are beyond thrilled that we are completing the cycle!)

But tonight, I got this text from Kayte as I was settling in the living room:

 



So anyway, I'm packing extra tissues in my purse for tomorrow....

In the outback...or out in the back...

This past weekend we packed up and headed for the mountains.  I was dragging my feet a bit because I've become quite spoiled with my mattress and my four walls and roof and all that, but Joe decided we were too young to get old, so we ponied up and hit the trail.  I actually forgot how beautiful it was out there in the boondocks.  It's hard to catch your breath, everywhere you turn is just...magnificent!  This year we were so excited to take our little Ben, but sadly, he mustered up a fever of 102 at the very last minute and we had to leave him behind.  I was super-bummed.  He was miserable enough to not feel too left out.  And he got to spend the whole weekend living it up with his cousins, and I spent less time worrying that he'd fall off a cliff to his certain death, so really, it was a bit of a win-win.

Here. we. go.

So fresh, and clean, and energetic!

Accidental photo.  Still awesome.

The grands.

First break.  We love getting out all our hand-picked sweets!  It's a highlight.

It's gotta be hard to be this cute.

Good times!

We settled in to just the right spot, about 5.5 miles down the trail.  We were hanging and snacking, when all of a sudden, Kayte spied a bald-faced hornets nest the size of Will's head, just dangling right above our tent spot.  Needless to say, we scurried down to the river to avoid any neighborly spats with the wildlife.

Ah yes, Joe packed this little treat as a surprise tucked neatly in my pillow.  Spoiled. rotten.

Hornets nest.  The size of Will's head.  Did I say that already?  Seriously, the biggest I'd ever seen!

Sara's feet snuggling together to keep warm.

Enjoying a little wine, smuggled up in a bota bag.  Livin' the dream.

Mom cooked us up some dinner.  This ain't no mac n' cheese.  It was Hawaiian chicken in rice.  She does not mess around.

Popcorn!

Waiting for dark so we can carry our tired bones to bed.

But Will was being industrious, shaving down some sticks for the breakfast stick bread.

And then it started to thunder and drizzle, so we waited it out under the tree (not the hornet's tree, mind you.)

Thankfully, the rain lasted a total of ten minutes.  Since Joe was packing two tents, he opted to leave the rain flys behind to lighten the load.  I had a dream we got washed away, but in reality, we were just staring at stars...

It's always a bit of a restless night, but at least this one dipped to only about 50 degrees (instead of last year's 20) so we were good.

Breakfast!

Family pic.  Saved it for bedhead day!

Headed home...a bit of a tricky start!

Stopped for lunch at Slippery Rock Creek, which provided loads of entertainment, and at least two highs:  Sara's: washing her bandana, and Will's: standing under a waterfall.

Sitting at the right end of a waterfall.

Pretending to fall off the waterfall (trust me, no real danger here) but Will got a glimpse of this shot and thought I was really gonna die.  Poor kid, gets this from me.

A little swim.

 

Sliding down the rocks...

Joe, attempting a little fishing cause it's a creek and he can't help himself...next time we'll make it to a lake!

What another fun, unforgettable year!  I just love all the memories it makes!

(Thanks mom & dad, for the guiding, and Ann & Dave, for the emergency medical housing for our baby!  :)