The giant sandcastle

You know it's got to be good when Linden comes rushing over asking me to bring my camera so I can take a picture of it. I was wondering where they got all the sand to build this monster castle and then I realized the smart boys used water to be able to form the sand around a huge bucket/barrel. Pretty smart.

Bonus, they get to rebuild it almost everyday because while they are at school Holden knocks it down for them. :)

Because he's a stinker

He climbs up on things he shouldn't to reach a blanket that I try to only let him have at naptime and then just takes a little break.

You've got to start them early

Right? I mean he's the one making most of the messes anyway.

Did you miss anything under there?

NOLA

On the way home we stopped in New Orleans. We had thought we'd spend the night there or somewhere along the way but it really was a difficult time school wise and work wise for us to be gone so after a brief tour we headed home and made it back around 3:30 am Sunday morning.

It's hard to find one picture since I didn't get one of all 6 of us together so you are getting the tree that we drove under that must be on the Mardi Gras parade route. Do you see all the beads hanging from it. Linden was yelling from the back seat that he wanted to stop and get them from the tree. Of course he did.

Grammy Grumpy Games

Oh yes we did! We braved the heat and the sand flies (which bite) and had a little friendly competition in the catagories of musical beach towels, race to the water, water balloon races, ultimate frisbee, chicken fights and marco polo.

Here we are in our GG shirts.

Fishing

A big group of us chartered two boats to go bay fishing. The bummer was that we kept catching blue fish which were not keepers and in fact would bite the hook off almost every time you hooked one. The best part was dinner that night.

We have arrived

We made it to Gulf Shores. We were exhausted and sleep deprived but there's always a reason to celebrate with cake. How about Grumpy's birthday!

The first day

I can't believe my boys are in kinder and first grade this year!

Our last meaningful Monday

While I hope it's not the last Monday we think about someone other than ourselves it was our last Monday of the summer. I saw this really cute craft and decided it would be fun for the kids to do. Since we have such a small school we made these for all the teachers and administration. The boys had fun working on them.

The finished product.

Pencil Boxes

After being at OakHills for the past 10 years and stretching and growing more than we could have imagined we have taking a step back into the past and started revisiting a church of christ. They have welcomed us with open arms and embraced our kids even when we still have not placed membership. Sunday was an example of Northside including us when they didn't have to. They had a special presentation for the incoming kindergarten class and Linden was a part of it. They presented all the kinder kids with pencil boxes full of school supplies that had extra meaning to them. They also got a new Bible and were prayed over by the elders at the church. It was pretty sweet and Linden was proud.

Using the Groupon

I bought a Groupon at the beginning of summer knowing we had the whole summer to use it but then somehow the summer was over and I still had the groupon and it was about to expire. It's not in our nature to cram a bunch of stuff into one day but on Saturday we did just that. We went to Corbin's birthday party at 11, swam and came home to rest for a little bit then headed out to Aquarena Springs. I remember going there as a kid. Along with the glass bottom boats back then they also had a mermaid show and swimming pigs. This was a little different but the ride on the boat was good enough for the kids. They really seemed to enjoy it.

I have a lot from Friday

We had the best Fun Friday yet!! More to come but this should give you a clue.

Meet the teacher

We went to meet the teacher on Thursday night. Hadley's teacher Mrs. Easley had somewhere to be during the official meet and greet time so we got just a quick visit in the classroom where Hadley did a couple of activities, like finding his name around the room. He also got a sweet night before school book that she had made.

Linden got to visit with his teacher a little more and played a quick get to know you type game with the other kinders in his class. It was fun seeing them all interact for the first time.

Mrs. Carlson had a bucket of toys for the other children who were in the room to play with. That woman is always thinking!

Before and after

The big thing now is the Brazilian Blow out. I've had several people who have cut my hair tell me that it would really cut down on the time it takes me to do my hair. With 4 kids, it was worth a shot. Here I am on day 2 or maybe even 3 of not washing my hair.

Here I am after.

Was it worth it? I'm not really sure. With extra long and thick hair I needed 2 additional capfuls of the product which was an extra $60, plus I had to pay a babysitter for FOUR hours! That woman worked on my hair for a ridiculous amount of time. She also cut my hair and thinned it out so it's a little hard to know if I'm liking it more because of the cut or the blow out. Is it faster to do? A little, again, not to the extent of money I spent probably. Live and learn.

Mudpie anyone?

Sarah and I had training at school on Tuesday and Thursday which meant Rachael and Becca kept all our kids. I got some spoons, and foil pie plates thinking that making mudpies might help occupy the kids while we were gone. Here was Linden's version.

He's not particular

Gibson LOVES his blanket. I try to keep it in his bed but he will go and get it himself. If he sees one of Channing's though he confiscates it. It doesn't matter to him that it's pink. He just somehow knows it's a blanket even if it's not his.

Griffin's party

We left Corpus on Sunday so that we could get back to San Antonio in time for Griffin's party. The party started at 5 and we pulled in the driveway about 10 after. Good thing we live right behind them. :) Here are most of the kids after the party. Pardon the bad pictures. It was dark and for whatever reason I refused to turn on my flash.

Let's go fly a kite

We spent the weekend in Corpus so I could see an old friend. I had bought a fun kite at Costco several months ago but hadn't had the chance to use it. We threw it in the car at the last minute and I'm so glad we did. Stefan told me he'd never had an easier time flying a kite and while Linden looked for treasures, Gibson tried to chase puppies, Hadley enjoyed flying it.

Last day of art camp

Friday was Linden's last day of art camp and I think it was a success. He seemed to really enjoy it. Though I wasn't completely overwhelmed with the projects they did, I think they learned some new things and he loved it.

Big brothers

You know these boys are used to having younger siblings around. Griffin was over playing on Thursday morning while Sarah took Brooks and Linden to camp. The boys were trying to put together Hadley's legos and Gibson, while not completely destroying their creations, was all up in their business and these boys didn't blink an eye. They patiently told him no or went about playing around him.

T Bar M

Hadley went to Day Camp at T Bar M for 3 full days. He had the time of his life. LOVED IT! Though when we asked if it was the best camp he's ever been to he hesitated and told us that he thought ACU camp will be better when he goes next year. Oh goodness, he's got high hopes. I hope it lives up to his expectations. For now, I'll enjoy all that he gleaned from T Bar M. He came home with some awesome retelling of skits that they did, new games and fun sports stories.

Here he was with Coach Jordan.

I guess they choose a character trait for every kid. For Hadley they chose obediance as the character trait he most portrayed. I think for the most part, it's a great description of Hadley.

Preston and Griffin were also at camp. These boys are looking big.

Art camp

Linden was at art camp from 9-12 everyday for 5 days and apparently did not get enough of it because everyday he came home and worked on some sort of craft.

Camp week

The boys were in camp so that left just the three of us at home. Gibson was sleeping, I was working on something and went into the kitchen to find Channing like this. She's a strange one. She thought it was pretty funny that she'd taped her mouth.

He's a climber

This kid. He wears me out! WEARS. ME. OUT. It takes one parent for this kid and one parent for the other 3.

Sorry for the poor pictures but this is Gibson doing what he does.