School Daze and more...

School is off and running. Joel loves Kindergarten! He's got a huge smile for me every time he walks down the hall toward my room at the end of the day. I've been told he's a great kid in class (do you think they would fibb?), he adores his teacher, and loves library day! The "first day of school" picture here is a total sham...I took it next to Andy's bus since Joel will probably never ride one (except for field trips of course!). Other pic is from Uncle Tim and Aunt MaryAnn's visit from Alaska last week. Tim gets deployed to Iraq in September :-( Time is movin' fast around here!

This marks the end of summer...

Tuesday, we went to the State Fairgrounds for the hot-air balloon Night Glow. It's the 2nd year we've attended, and this time was even better than last! There were more balloons and the weather was perfect! The state fair always reminds me that school is starting; next week, in fact. I'm not ready. I'm a little nervous about how I'll juggle school and Masters coursework, knowing that this summer's courses were pretty intense. Anyway, here are some neat pics from Night Glow...

Garage Sale Woes

I can't believe the last time I posted was way back at the beginning of the month! I'm terrible! So, we just had our big "Going Out of Baby" garage sale and......It STUNK! I put so much hard work and planning and effort into it. I advertised, I held it "in town" at a relative's house, I priced a bazillion things, I priced to sell--not to make money, etc... It had all the wonderful baby things people go for: crib, stroller system/carseat, changing table, accessories, tons of clothes! The clientelle was few and far between. I am disgusted! What a disappointment. The only bright spot was when a new neighbor of ours showed up (after I posted an FYI on their door at 6:30am) and bought the crib/mattress! They are a very nice family and we had a good time chatting. You know, I just don't think people garage sale much anymore. You would think, with the state of the economy, that more people would be second-handing it. Has my generation ignored their bargain-hunting heritage? You know many of us grew up with that! What gives? Oh well, at least it's over and my attic load is lighter. **sigh**
By the way, anyone need a stroller/car seat system or changing table? I couldn't bear to see them dropped off at Goodwill like the rest of it...

Hanna's Big Girl Bed

Hanna's been dying to see her big girl bed on the blog, so here it is. Here are some other pics from our visit to IL last week!

Joel's New Digs

For the boy who told us he wanted to be a monster truck driver at PS graduation....a new room, complete with the best monster trucks Mommy could paint. Don't get too close or you'll notice the many flaws, but Joel couldn't be happier! Daddy built the awesome loft bed this weekend...please pray that no 2 or 5 year-olds fall off! The kids love it and Hanna is ready for her new bed and accessories NOW. She doesn't get it that we need a mattress first. She's ready to rip open her purple fairy tale bedding and throw that old crib out the window! Soon kiddo....

Still here...

I'm swimming in online master's coursework right now, but I'm aware I haven't posted in a long time. So...here are some random early summer pictures to tide us over!

Graduation Day!

Time goes so quickly! Joel graduated from preschool the other night. He was awesome! They sang songs and had to tell the audience what they wanted to be when they grew up. "A monster truck driver," he stated. This momma's so proud!