Evan's Kindergarten Field Trip to the Farm

Today I got to chaperone Evan's field trip to the farm! Well, I sort of chaperoned, since I am one of the teachers, it was impossible to just be Evan's mom. I was Mrs. Koontz/teacher for a lot of the students and helped out a lot. That was fine though, because we all had lots of fun!

We started off by getting to feed the cows, which was hilarious! They were so hungry and they practically ran over to the fence when they saw us coming! Some of the kids were intimidated by the size of the cows, but not Evan! He ran right up and fed the cows!

After we fed the cows, we went through a corn maze and then we went on a hayride around the farm.  After they hay ride, we got to go to the pumpkin patch! Lots of the kids wanted really big pumpkins, but Evan chose the two smallest ones we saw!

We enjoyed a great lunch outside and then had play time. The kids got to play on the playground for awhile and then they played a game where they rolled pumpkins and hedge apples down a hill and into buckets. The kids AND the adults had a ball!

We visited the barn next. The kids got to see a pig and some chickens, as well as operate a machine that took the corn off of the cob. Once we got the corn off the cob, we used the corn to feed the goats. sheep, and chickens!

Once the field trip was over, I signed Evan out of school a bit early and we picked up Preston. The three of us then enjoyed a great afternoon playing outside! What a great day!

Evan loved the tractor that pulled the hay wagon! Of course, once I took his picture, he wanted his good buddy Ty to join him for a picture!

Silly Friends!

Evan LOVES his little pumpkins!

Class Pictures (A BIG thanks to Mr. Westermann, who took several of these pictures!)

Mr. Westermann also sent me this picture of Evan, Ty and Azaiha. It was take during play time and it cracks me up! Those boys are so silly!

It was fun to roll the hedge apples down the hill and into the buckets, but it was just as much fun to cheer for our friends!

Just like in Key West, Evan loved the chickens. He insisted I take a picture of them!

Evan used the corn that he got off the cob, to feed the goats.

Evan had a great time on the trip, but he fell asleep soon after we left the farm. Too funny!

Soccer and Alpha Gam Family Weekend 2013

Each fall, my most cherished sorority sisters and I get together with our families for our Alpha Gam Family Weekend. This year, Melanie offered to host our event at her house in Bowling Green.So  after a fun morning of watching Evan play soccer, we got settled in the van and headed south.

After a fairly uneventful trip, we arrived at Melanie's new house. We were the first to arrive, but we were soon joined by the rest of my sisters and their families. The kids immediately went to the bounce house, while the parents sat down to socialize. Of course, with TONS of kids running around, it is difficult to talk without TONS interruptions! We had lunch, talked, played with the kids, etc. all afternoon. It was SO good to see everyone, especially since we are spread out over several states and this is the one of only two times a year we see each other.

After all the kids were done with bouncing, we all headed to the hotel for a pizza dinner and swimming. Unfortunately, poor Preston was not up for swimming, so Carl stayed with him and tried to get him to sleep, while I took Evan to swim with the other kids. Afterwards, Levi and Evan had a special sleepover and I stayed up to talk to John and Terri for awhile,. Unfortunately, I came back to see that Preston was still awake and unhappy. I ended up getting him to calm down and sleep by cuddling him in the bed with me, but he was restless the whole night and unfortunately, neither of us slept well. Oh well! You can't win 'em all!

The next morning we had breakfast with our friends and then headed home. We were so sad to leave, but it helped to know that we would be seeing Congletons again in just two weeks!

Evan is enjoying soccer this year. He has improved since last year and is a really good sport! Go Evan!

 "Yay!"

Evan was pumped to be on the road and on the way to see our friends!

Alpha Gam Girls

Alpha Gam Kids (I can't believe we got them ALL to sit for a picture!)

Alpha Gam Guys

This picture is blurry, but cracks me up! Best buddies before bed!

Sleepy Time

U of L vs. UK Football Game - Fall 2013

Yesterday was the U of L vs. UK football game. It was a very fun, but hectic day! We got up early so we could take Preston to Aunt Heather's house, where he could nap and play, instead of being tired and fussy at Evan's soccer game. We then had to get Evan to church, where we would get his soccer pictures taken and get him set for his first soccer game of the season. By this time it was about 9:15. We found Bonnie Mom and got Evan settled with her and then found Granddaddy and got ready to head to Lexington.

We finally got on the road around 9:30, with the hope of being in Lexington by 10:30. We wanted to tailgate and meet up with some friends. Unfortunately, we got stuck in a lot of traffic! We did not get to Lexington until after 11:00 and then we had to walk to the stadium. Once we parked, we went to meet up with Brooke and hoped to tailgate a bit, but phone service was terrible and we did not meet up until we got in the stadium. Although we did not get to hang out for long, it was nice to see her!

We got to our seats and quickly noticed that U of L was not playing well. What a disappointment! Greg finally joined Carl, my dad and I and things started looking better for our Cards. Although the game was not their best, the Cardinals did manage a win and we had a great time.

After the game, Greg and Carl left to go camping, which was part of Greg's bachelor party. (He is getting married next weekend.) I rode home with Dad and was excited to see that Evan and Preston were having fun with Bonnie Mom. (Bonnie Mom had fun too!) We spent the rest of the evening playing and having a relaxing dinner. Although we missed Daddy, we had a great laid-back night.

Evan was so excited for his first soccer game of the season. He scored the first goal, was a great defensive player and was a good team member! (Daddy and I were sad to miss the first game, but Bonnie Mom enjoyed going and she was happy to tell us all about it!) 

My Favorite UK fan!

Carl and I had a great time at the game!

Preston was not too interested in the game, but he sure looked cute in his U of L jersey! (Everyone needs a snack after the big game, right?)

More Firsts for Evan

Evan got to go to his very first U of L football game this weekend! (We had never thought to take Evan to a game before, because he was never very interested in football. This year is very different! He was so sad when Carl and I went to last week's game without him, that I decided to give him my ticket for this week's game.) Daddy and Evan had a good time and Evan liked cheering for the Cards. They even met up with Grammy and Granddaddy and since there were some empty seats next to them, they all got to sit together, which Evan was very excited about.

One of the coolest parts of the day for Evan was getting to meet Russ Smith! He and Daddy just happened to see him while they were getting something to eat and Russ was very kind to them. He talked to them, gave Evan and high five and even offered to take a picture with Evan! What a great guy!
 

If you look carefully, you will notice that Evan and Russ switched glasses! It was Russ's idea and it was super cute! I guess big guys like Spiderman too! =)

Evan had another first this weekend as well. He got to go fishing! (He held a fishing pole in Key West when someone offered to let him fish, but it was for a short time and he did not catch anything.) He and Daddy got a fishing license and then went to purchase some fishing equipment. Once they were set, they headed to the creek. Once they arrived at the creek and got settled in, Evan got his first catch! Of course, it was not a fish, it was a snake! Evan loves creatures, so he caught the baby Queen snake with his hands! Can you believe that? Once they let the snake go, they went fishing and caught four fish! Evan even brought them home so I could see them! We put them in our aquarium for the night, be we took them back the next day, since they could jump out! (One fish actually did jump out and I found him just in time! Thankfully, he was alright!)

Of course, Evan liked fishing so much, that we had to go again on Saturday. All four of us went this time, which was fun. Of course, Preston did not fish. He just played in the stream and I chased him around. Evan and Daddy caught 4 more fish and Evan was delighted. I was happy because I got to see Evan fish and I also got to take a few pictures! (Daddy forgot to take any pictures on the first night, but that's o.k.)

We love our fishing spot. It is pretty and the fish are hungry!

"Look! Fish!"

Evan LOVES fishing and he was VERY excited to catch so many fish!

These two make a great team!

 Preston had fun too, although playing in the creek was more more fun than watching the big boys catch fish.

After I finished this post, Evan and Daddy went fishing AGAIN! =) Here is one last picture of Evan fishing. This was his biggest catch yet! Way to go, Evan!

Evan's First Day of Kindergarten

Evan just started kindergarten! The best part is, he is going to my school, Chancey Elementary. He is actually in my homeroom, which has been fun. I get to see him quite a bit on the days that I teach. (I am working part time again this year and I LOVE it!) When I am not there, he is in great hands with Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Walker. Evan loves getting to be in my class and I like it too. I get to see him interacting with other kids, learning new things, etc. It has been really wonderful so far.

While going to kindergarten has been fun, our night time routine has been a BIG adjustment. Evan is SO tired from the long day and is often cranky at night. This can be tough, but thankfully, it seems to be getting a bit easier for everyone, now that he is getting used to going to school all day, instead of just in the morning. It is still weird for me that he wants to go to bed so early. In the summer he would easily stay up until 10:00 catching lightning bugs, but now he is in bed by 8:00.

All in all, in has been a good start to the school year. Evan is happy and so I am I. In fact, just yesterday Evan said, "I love our school! I want to go there for first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade AND fifth grade!" He then followed with, "Even when I am not in your class, I will still be happy to see you at school."

Here are a few pictures of Evan at his orientation day and on his first day of kindergarten.

Evan had lots of fun holding his first day of school sign! (I love the silly face one! That boys LOVES to make silly faces!)

 Evan got right to work once he got to school.

 Evan and Mommy

Evan and Mrs. Reynolds

Evan and Mrs. Walker

Evan's Special Day with Daddy

Right before school started, Carl took a day off or work so that he and Evan could have a special day together. They started their day with breakfast at McDonald's and then headed down to Mammoth Cave. They took a cave tour and got to see all sorts of cool things, like cave crickets, a rat and a bat! Later, they went on a hike and got to see a snapping turtle and a frog. (Evan LOVES animals, so he was very excited that they got to see so many!)

After lunch at a small restaurant, they headed to Dinosaur World! Of course, Evan was in heaven! He had so much fun looking at all the dinosaurs and digging for fossils. (Evan is so personable and makes friends wherever he goes. The man at the fossil dig thought Evan was adorable and let him have lots of fossils, even though he was only supposed to get three!)

On the way home, they stopped off and bought some geodes. Once they were home, we all had fun opening them up on the driveway. All three geodes were beautiful and Evan added them to his "collections."

It was a very special day for Daddy and Evan. I am so grateful that the boys have such an amazing Daddy, who loves them so much and enjoys spending time with them. Both boys are blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy!