1st Day of Middle School/First Grade

The first day of school is always bittersweet for me for a couple reasons....ONE, it's a constant reminder of how quickly my boys are growing up (someone find/discover a pause button!!!)...TWO, it's an end to my summer/days off (I LOVE being home with my boys and not being tied down to a schedule! And, this was the first summer in two years I actually had OFF with no course work/horrendously long papers to write)...THREE, I get to hear the excitement my boys have as they talk all about their days in school (and, of course, the occasional grumbles too!)...FOUR, it's football GAME time (and, for me that means I get to watch Austin "slobber-knock" people)...FIVE, we get back on our "normal" schedules (haha, I know this contradicts what I just said a minute ago! There's something about being on a schedule that helps me get more accomplished!)....

Gotta have a first day picture with Mom! :) My boys can snap a pretty good photo, huh?

Austin came home on Day 1 and said Middle School is like a vacation....Day 2 he said Middle School is exhausting....Day 3 when I got home he was sounds asleep on his bed and thought it was the next day when I woke him up! I can't believe he's in middle school!!!!

Logan loves that he has some friends in his class from last year's class! He LOVES being able to go to the "big" playground for recess, and they had watermelon with lunch on Friday (you KNOW he is a happy boy!)!!! Here's to another great school year!!!

Austin turns (GASP!!!) ELEVEN!!!!

I cannot believe Austin turns ELEVEN tomorrow! I am AMAZED at how quickly time has flown by. He is almost as big as me, and he is certainly as strong (if not more)!!! He went for his MIDDLE SCHOOL Orientation today...sniff, sniff! I can sometimes feel that slight lump in my throat I felt when he was walking to his kindergarten room (that this teacher mom used to secretly laugh in my head at "those" weepy moms...until I had my own child going and felt that way) as I think about him going to a different school than where I am (though, he couldn't be more excited!!!). He makes us SO very proud at everything he does!!! He has always (thank goodness) done well in school! He's got great choice in friends (so far we've liked them all!)! He's a wonderful BIG brother (Logan adores him and aspires to do everything his big brother does! And, in fact, JUST taped a secret message and $1 from his own piggy bank to his big brother's door since he heard Austin say he wanted money for his birthday)...he even came RUNNING in the house for the bendryl when the two of them were outside playing the other day and Logan got bit by ants. He rocks it on the football field (ability wise and more importantly HEARTwise)...can't wait to watch him play in Sportsarama tomorrow!!! Of course, I will post pics of that tomorrow!!! I could go on an on about or oldest (really about either of our boys)...I love his personality and sense of sarcasm, I love that he helps out around the house, I love that he still likes to sit and chat with both me and his dad, I love that he likes to watch some of our shows (and talks to us about them) with us...BIG BROTHER! I love that he and I can read the same books (SOME OF THEM ANYWAY) and talk about them...HUNGER GAMES! I love that he still lets me put him to bed and say his "lay me's" (aka prayers)...and I love that he will even add special prayer requests when appropriate!!! I love how he can randomly quote animal facts and tidbits! I love his blue eyes and freckles! I just LOVE him!!!! Happy 11th Birthday, Austin!!!! aka "my Snoodle"

The Rest of Disney Trip

Another free slideshow by Smilebox

I can't believe summer is coming to an end and I am just now getting around to posting the rest of our trip from the beginning of summer! We've been SO busy! Don't worry! I have more pictures from the summer to post! Maybe I can make myself get caught up before school starts back up! My goal was to do a slideshow from each park/day of our trip, but this was quicker and helped me get this one done so I can move on to other posts! I don't want to get behind on the blog too much! LOL! So, enjoy some pictures from Hollywood Studios, Universal, and Epcot (probably my favorite park!!!).