Free Cookie Friday

See this lovely lady here?   The one holding the delicious plate of chocolate chip cookies...

That's our neighbor.  She's sweet and kind and lots and lots of fun...

 And did I mention she is brilliant?  She's an inventor of sorts...she invented FREE COOKIE FRIDAY

 and the neighborhood kids couldn't be happier

One more reason to look forward to Fridays...not that I needed one.  (  =

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school.

 The first day of seventh grade

 and fifth grade.

 The first day of second grade and of course (gulp)

The very first day of kindergarten...

He was so excited that it was hard to get a picture of him.  Kindergarten in Idaho is only three hours.  Our little guy is in the afternoon kindergarten class with a fabulous teacher.

We are renting a house only a half a mile from the elementary school and middle school.  There are lots of kids all around and so we have a group that walks together.

This is a view of our new  neighborhood and route to school.  It's up hill both ways but so, so beautiful.

 I wish I had a better lens so you can see the mountains in the background and rolling fields of wheat.

 And these are the sweet, sweet girls that Bella has been blessed to have as friends.  There is a great group of Beehives here that Cardi has been fortunate to meet.  Lucky for her there was room in the carpool so she didn't have to walk to school this morning.

This is John and Aweehoo, his rubbery, light up toy.  He gave me strict instruction when I dropped him off at school this afternoon to take good care of him...feed  him twice a day...and give him lots of hugs. 

And this is Aweehoo and what's left of John's light up sword...and what I hope are many more memories to come.

There's So much to write about...

traveling across the country for a new job, a new home, new neighbors, new schools, new friends, and how sad we were to leave our good friends in Tennessee and our family in Florida but how grateful we are to be back in  Idaho and  closer to family (only an hour and a half away).

But for now I'll just write about this little guy who happened to turn 6 today and just happens to be starting kindergarten tomorrow...

 He's so much fun! 

 

 

 

And so, so sweet!

 

Each year he gets sweeter and sweeter.  I love his smile and the way he says thank you and how when I made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for bunch he proclaimed "This is the best birthday ever!"  I love how easy he is to please like when he opened his light up sword and exclaimed  how great it was  even though he really wanted a Star Wars light saber.

 He's definitely all boy with his Plants vs. Zombies, angry birds, super heroes, and

wrestling moves so I love  when he comes into the room and asks if he can watch his favorite show.  What's that I ask casually, then he bats his big green  eyes and says "Mom, you know I love My Little Pony!"  He cracks me up...then again he's in good company!

I just hope his kindergarten teacher has a sense of humor.

A Mother's Day

Our neighborhood is a neighborhood in transition.  Most of our immediate neighbors have lived here for 20 to 40 years.  Their kids are grown and most of their grandchildren are grown too.  Their houses are quiet, clean, and well kept, the lawns pristine. 

They don't have boy made stick forests enveloping their back yards

 or sticking wielding boys terrorizing the neighborhood.

I'm certain they don't have socks stuck to the side of their fireplace because their kids thought it would be a fun way to pass the time.

 And those well manicured lawns that are cut regularly on Mondays and Thursdays don't look like a tornado touched down overnight.  And I'm pretty sure we own the only mailbox in the entire subdivision wearing a pink dress because a certain 3 year thinks it looks pretty.

 No the neighbor's kids no longer get off the school bus wearing a marker mustache

 or run barefoot

 They are well past the princess stage

 and onion grass bouquets

 I've never seen one of our neighbors kids drag around their own "chair ladder"  so they could scale a castle wall

 or call for help when the castle wall is a little higher than they thought.

 They are past the swing phase

 The school art shows

 Preschool concerts.

 Sometimes I am too.  But then those same neighbors with the quiet, perfectly clean houses and manicured lawns and years of wisdom and experience behind them lament how fast the time went and how they miss those socks in unexpected places, those barefoot, stick wielding boys and little princesses and then I want nothing more than to savor these ordinary days when my kids think I am amazing and funny.

 I want to capture the love put into these homemade mother's day cards and sign.

 I want to remember waking up to breakfast in bed, everyone gathered on our bed and trying very hard to be kind to each other because after all it is Mother's Day.

 I want to remember the beautiful flowers and the kind words and the lovely gift of  white bowls and water pitcher that make me smile.

I want to remember the sweet song that our sweet 9 year old wrote and sang to me and that at least for today my kids think that I "make the stars look dull because I'm so bright, an amazing mother a beautiful light."

  Happy Mother's Day to all those Beautiful Mother's who make the stars look dull and here's to more ordinary days of barefoot kids, princesses, and stick wielding boys.