Party Time!!!

Saturday afternoon we had a party for Austin's eleventh birthday. It felt
very strange to have a birthday party without any family here. We had a nice turn out though from the good friends we've made and all the boys in the neighborhood (Austin forbid me from inviting girls!). We splurged this year and rented a bounce house which the boys used mostly as a wrestling ring. Austin received mostly cash for his birthday which was just fine with him. By the time he finished opening his cards he was $140 richer! Cash gifts are a lot easier when you live in a town that is 35 minutes away from a Walmart or Target. I still can't believe that my little boy is eleven years old now. Where does the time go?

Time On My hands...

I am still adjusting to having ALL of my kids in school. For the past eleven years I have had at least one little buddy at home to keep me company. Today I find myself walking in circles, wondering what I should do with myself. I know I should probably just enjoy the moment but all of a sudden I am realizing that until Lauren graduates from High School, I have to find something to do during school hours. I am tempted to get a job but it is so important to me to be home when my kids are home and a job may interfere with that. It's not likely that I would find a job that would work me strictly during school hours, plus give me all of the school holidays and vacation times off (unless the job was actually at a school). It kills me to think of my kids coming home to an empty house or sitting home alone when they have a day off. I'm sure eventually I will come up with something productive and enjoyable to do. After all, I have plenty of time on my hands to think about it.

Farewell To Summer

Fall is coming. The temperatures have cooled, the kids are back in school, and our daylight hours are shortening. Although Fall has always been my favorite time of year, I am sad to see this summer come to an end. We had so much fun this summer camping, swimming, floating the river, and playing, playing, playing! It seemed like we never ran out of things to do. Our neighborhood is filled with kids and I loved having the whole gang running through our house and staying for sleepovers. There was a T. P. war raging all summer and about every fourth night we'd wake up to a yard full of toilet paper. My kids had more adventures this summer than they've had in their lifetimes. It was great.

Fishing at Brownlee

We had tons of fun this weekend camping and fishing at Brownlee Reservoir. We went with four other families that we have become friends with and they gave us lessons in catching, gutting and frying fish. Austin was the first and only person to catch a fish Friday afternoon. He waded out into the water, cast out his line and in less than 2 minutes had a bite. Imagine our excitement when he reeled in a 20 in., 4lb. bass. He was so proud! The next day Aaron caught a catfish that was almost as big as Austin's bass. Even Lauren got in on the fun and caught a 12 in bass! It was nice to spend three days in the great outdoors just hanging out, relaxing and being with friends.

So Sick...

Three days ago our family was hit with the worst head and chest cold ever. It hit suddenly and it hit hard. Actually, Aaron and I got it the worst and Austin and Lauren had a more mild version. Amanda lucked out as usual and hasn't come down with it yet. Yesterday Aaron stayed home from work and we rented a bunch of movies that we watched all day long. It was kind of nice to spend the day together, but it would have been better if we weren't feeling so miserable. Today I'm feeling a bit better. I hope by tonight we are cured because tomorrow we are supposed take off and go camping for the weekend!