School Days!

After a lovely summer, it is now time for BOTH boys to go to school and for me to return to work. (I have actually been going to school for many weeks, since I needed to get the classroom ready, plan lessons, do assessments, etc.) I am always sad for summer to go, since I LOVE the extra time with the boys and things just seem more carefree.

Evan started school on August 13th. He is in Ms. Morrow's first grade class at Chancey Elementary. He is enjoying school so far and is happy to see many of his old friends in his new class. He really likes Ms. Morrow and is already showing us that he is learning a lot! Both Carl and I are really proud of him and we hope he has a great year!

Here are a few pictures of Evan on his first day of first grade!

Although I know he will love preschool, I have been very nervous for Preston to go to school. Mostly, because he tends to cry when he is left in childcare at church and he can be shy around new people. Thankfully, he did very well at his orientation last week. I was with him, but he happily played with toys, interacted with the other children and even hugged and kissed his teacher as we left! I was so happy!

Preschool orientation was fun!

Sadly, Preston's first day of preschool was spent at home. He woke up vomiting, so he was not able to attend his official first day of school. He stayed home with me, where he spent most of the day cuddled up with me and watching his favorite movies. I was happy that I was able to take care of my sweet boy, but I did feel so bad for him. He was just so pitiful.

Thankfully, by Friday (August 29th), Preston felt great and was able to go to preschool! He was all smiles on the way to school and he was very excited to go! He did cry when I dropped him off, which was sad for both of us. Thankfully, his teacher said he only cried on and off and not the whole time. Preston keeps telling us that he likes preschool and that he wants to go back, so I am hoping that he will cry less and less and that soon he will not cry at all! I am sure that he will have a great year.

Here are some pictures of Preston's first day of 2 year old preschool!

Happy Birthday, Carl!

Although Carl does not like to make a big fuss about his birthday, the boys LOVE celebrating birthdays and wanted to help Daddy have a great birthday. Once Carl left for work, the preparations for his "surprise party" began. We went out to buy supplies for making a cake, as well as picked out some special birthday balloons. When we returned home, the boys worked together to bake the cake. They did a great job and took turns adding ingredients, mixing, etc.

Later in the afternoon, the boys made some great party decorations and Evan decorated a great Star Wars cake.

When it was time for Carl to come home, Evan stood by the door and watched for Carl to pull in the driveway. Once he was spotted, Evan made sure we were all in the right hiding spots. When Carl walked in the door, we were able to jump out and surprise him!

We spent the night eating dinner, cake, and playing outside. It may not have been what Carl was expecting, but he had fun and the boys had a great time showing him how much they love him!

Evan and Preston did a super job making the birthday cake.

Making birthday decorations was fun and they turned out great!

 

 

 

Evan was so excited to make Daddy's special Star Wars birthday cake. I think he did a great job!

 

The cake was yummy!

 

Happy birthday, Carl! You are a great daddy, husband and friend! We love you!

Kaiya

Kaiya was our very first "baby." After a series of weird events where no one was able to keep her due to lease agreements, finances, etc. Carl brought her home to me, just a few months before we got married. (He has since said that this was the worst decision of his life, but I know he is joking!)

Kaiya was quite a stinker when we got her. In addition to not being super cuddly, she would do crazy things, like hide under the couch until someone walked by and then run out and bite the person's ankles. She was also notorious for making people think it was ok to pet her, but then biting them!

Of course, with lots of love and time, she became a sweetie. She loved to cuddle and would sit in my lap while I watched t.v. at night and purr almost the whole time. She was GREAT with the kids and never once scratched or bit them. In fact, she was super gentle with them and she let them hold her, hug her, play with her, etc.

Sadly, our sweet girl developed cancer last summer. After a major surgery to remove the tumor and a tough recovery, we thought she was well. Unfortunately, her tumor came back in the winter. With no other good options, we spent the last few months loving our sweet girl and keeping her happy and comfortable.

Last week, the day after we returned from vacation, it was clear that Kaiya could no longer fight the cancer. She was in a lot of pain that she could no longer bear, so we made the decision to have her put to sleep. It was the best decision for her, but so sad for us. We miss her terribly and our hearts ache for her.

My hope is that my sweet girl is happy now, where she is no longer in pain and happily playing, eating her favorite wet cat food (Fancy Feast Tender Beef Feast Classic) and enjoying playing with Reece and Charlie at The Rainbow Bridge.

I know I have lots more pictures of my little sweetie, but these are the ones I was able to find quickly and/or that are some of my favorites.

Summer Vacation - Part 2 - Orlando

After our trip to Key West, we drove up to Orlando to meet my parents and go to Disney World! The trip was the longest car trip we have ever taken with the kids and I was a bit nervous, but they both did surprisingly well! We made a stop at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which is about half way between Key West and Orlando. Preston was super sleepy, so we did not stay too long, but we did get to swim and Evan got to look for creatures.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

After arriving in Orlando, we were super busy with the pool, the playground, the Disney parks, the beach, etc. I am not entirely sure which day we did what, but I am going to post pictures in the approximate order that we did each activity.

Preston really liked the playground at the hotel and we spent a lot of time there.

Evan really liked the pool and he and Granddaddy had a lot of fun playing together!

As always, we had to look for wildlife! Evan found this cool turtle and showed it to EVERYONE!

 

 Preston had a blast jumping in the baby pool. He usually wanted someone to jump with him, but I think he liked jumping here, because he did not have to wait for anyone to catch him. 

 

Here are a few pictures from The Magic Kingdom. I did not get to take many, as it was just not a great day for many reasons, including the fact that it was RIDICULOUSLY crowded, Preston and Carl were overwhelmed by the massive amount of people and wait times, Granddaddy had a hard time walking due to his sprained ankle, rides were closed, rides were malfunctioning, rides were closed a long time due to storms, we got soaking wet in the rain, etc. There were a few fun parts though, including Evan getting to go on the roller coasters and Preston getting to meet Buzz Lightyear!

We made it to Disney World!



Preston liked all the rides, but this one featuring Buzz Lightyear was his favorite!

While Preston does not look super happy in these pictures, he was THRILLED to meet Buzz Lightyear! (Buzz was SO sweet to Preston and really took his time greeting him! Preston loved the extra attention, fist bumps, etc.)

Evan was so happy that he could drive!

It's a Small World was a fun ride!

 

Preston enjoyed looking at the ducks. (I think he will be a nature boy, like his brother.)

Evan was so happy that he could ride Space Mountain!

I love this picture of my dad and Evan. They are looking at a map and making plans for lots of fun!

Bath time was extra fun, thanks to a huge whirlpool tub!

Bath Time Pirate

I brought lollipops to help pass the time while we waited in line. Preston found them one morning and ran off with it and proceeded to eat several lollipops! Well, he may not have eaten that many, but he opened a lot and tasted them! When I found him, he offered me one!

 

Evan loved finding creatures, so he and Granddaddy often went on adventures around the hotel in search of wildlife. On this day, he found a small frog!

 

Dinner at T-Rex Café was fun. In addition to eating, we made dinosaurs, dug for fossils, etc.

Both boys enjoyed digging for dinosaur bones.

Evan and Granddaddy - Normal Pose

Evan and Granddaddy - Dinosaur Pose

Evan photo bombed this picture of Grammy and Granddaddy, but it turned out pretty cute!

Preston loved all of the dinosaurs and we spent quite a bit of time wandering around the restaurant seeing all of the different dinosaurs.

Both boys built dinosaurs, but I somehow only got pictures of Preston. (Probably because when it was Evan's turn, I was busy chasing Preston!) The boys love their new buddies!

 

 

Epcot was GREAT! Everyone had fun, the weather was good, the lines were short, the food was good, the rides were fun, etc. It was a wonderful experience!

 

 

Evan loved the leaping water fountains!

 

The Finding Nemo themed attraction was awesome! We loved Turtle Talk with Crush, The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride, as well as the aquariums.

This guy cracks me up!

Both boys enjoyed the aquariums, which included sharks, fish, rescued manatees, etc.

Having fun is hard work!

Norway

Maelstrom

Evan enjoyed hearing this band play while in England.

Mexico

 

Mommy and Evan at Epcot

Journey Into Imagination With Figment

If there is a puddle, Preston will find it and play in it!

 

We went to Cocoa Beach, which was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Evan had been before, but it was Preston's first time at a beach that had big waves. Like his brother, Preston LOVED the big waves. He had a great time playing in the waves and was not afraid AT ALL!

 

Preston was so sleepy, that he feel asleep as soon as we left for the beach and slept the whole way there!



 

Presto loved the big waves!

Evan had a great time at the beach!

Preston had fun with Daddy and was all smiles as they played in the waves.

I love this picture. As soon as I tried to take this picture of Preston happily playing in the sand, he ran over to me and dumped sand on me! Clearly, he was quite pleased with himself!

 

 

We went to Hollywood Studios, which was also a lot of fun, especially since Evan got to do the Jedi Training Academy! We enjoyed the rides and shows and had a great time meeting the various characters that were around the park. (Evan is usually not a fan of characters. He is not afraid, but is simply not that into them. Preston, however, is a HUGE fan of characters, so we tried to see as many as we could!) We also got to go to the "Frozen" sing along, which was so much fun and Evan and Daddy got to see the Frozen parade! (Sadly, none of the pictures of Anna, Elsa or Kristoff were that great.)

 

Evan was so excited to be chosen to go to the Jedi Training Academy! He even got to carry the banner and lead the children to the training site!

 

 

Darth Vader and Darth Maul appeared, but Evan was not scared! He was ready to battle!

 



 Both boys loved the speeder bikes. (I think Preston will be a Star Wars fan one day!)

 

 

Preston LOVED the characters, although sometimes it is hard to tell from the pictures. He was generally not interested in smiling so we could take his picture. He wanted to be giving hugs, high fives, fist bumps, etc.!

 

Lightning McQueen

Jake (We let Preston visit him multiple times, since he was SO excited!)

Phineas and Ferb

 

The Studio Backlot Tour was fun! Evan liked all of the Planes characters that were on the "set."

 

 

 

 Poor Preston was SO tired, that he feel asleep in my arms. As I said before, having fun is hard work!

 

 

 

Evan found this caterpillar while searching for "cool nature stuff." I was impressed that he knew it would turn into a monarch butterfly!

 

Evan got to build his very own light saber, which was lots of fun!

We had a late flight, so we went to Typhoon Lagoon on our last day. We did not get to stay long and Preston was super fussy at first, but we had a pretty good time.

Preston LOVED this water slide. He went on it at least 20 times!

Evan was a big fan of the large waves in the pool!

Why is Preston so happy?

He was playing "ticky" with Grammy! (Ticky is Preston's word for their tickle game!)

 

 

Nature explorers and best buddies!

All in all, we had a GREAT trip to Orlando. There were a few trying moments, but we had a ball. The boys loved their special time with Grammy and Granddaddy!