Pumpkin Patch & Fall Carnival

Fall is my favorite time to take pictures of my family. Of course, it doesn't take much for me to whip the camera out and start snapping. Oh my poor family!!!

Here are some of my favorite pre-Halloween pumpkin patch and

Fall Carnival shots.

Pete's First Report Card

Ok, so I guess I will be a cluster blogger today... Better late than never, huh??

This week we had Pete's student/teacher conference. His teacher said he is keeping up with the class quite well and has made tremendous improvement since the beginning of the year. We are always so concerned about Pete because of everything he has been through. Radiation can have long-term effects and cause learning disabilities. But, I'm happy to report, so far so good!!

Here is what Mr. Taylor wrote on Pete's report card:

"The world would be a better place with a few more Petes. Pete has made some great progress in class. Especially with his fine motor development. He is a fast learner, and an efficient

worker. I'm glad Pete is in my class this year."

I'm so happy Mr. Taylor sees and appreciates how truly special Pete is!

Another Student of the Month

Hailey was awarded Student of the Month for the month of October. Way to go Baby!!

I know I'm a bit behind with my blogging... This whole school thing is keeping me pretty busy. I'm so happy to have the long weekend and will be glad when this term is behind me!

This week, we had Hailey's student/teacher conference and got her first report card for this year. Once again, Hailey is exceeding the standards with mostly Es on her report card. As for her reading, she is way off the carts for 2nd grade, so her teacher agreed to place her in 3rd grade reading. What a smart kid!!

The Adventures of Peter - Not What You Think!

Last night I finished reading Peter and the Starcatchers to Hailey. It is a 451 page prequel to the Peter Pan story. This adventure explains everything that the original story didn't. How did the boys get to Neverland? Why is it a magical island with Mermaids in the lagoon? Why can Peter fly and why doesn't he grow older? Where did Tinkerbell come from? And the questions answered go on and on. Hailey and I both enjoyed this book so much that tonight we started the next book in the series - Peter Shadow Thieves. So far, there are 4 books in this interesting adventure (the fourth one goes on shelves tomorrow). Hailey and I are looking forward to enjoying the other books! And no, that's not Wendy on the cover... You will have to read the book to meet all these new characters!

Look Who's Student of the Month

When I picked Pete up from school today (Hailey gets out later), he mentioned that there had been a "Spirit Assembly" today. What he failed to mention was what happened at the assembly... When we got home, I was unpacking his backpack and found a crumpled-up piece of paper on the bottom. It was an award for Student of the Month! I asked him about it and he told me that everyone in his class got one... Well, no they didn't - what a humble little boy! Hailey also won a drawing to have a pizza party with Mr. Santi (the school principle). Way to go H & P!!

The Life of a Child

Children are just amazing. Remember those days of knights and princesses. In the whole scheme of things, that wasn't too long ago... Why do things have to be so different when we grow up? We all could benefit from living more in the moment, exercising our imagination and appreciating a good bug. We have so much to learn from our kids!

Pete's First Day of Kindergarten

Today, Pete started kindergarten. How is it possible that my babies are no longer babies??!! I was so nervous about today, that I didn't sleep well last night. Of course, Pete had no problem with me leaving his classroom. I was the one with the problem... I was anxious all morning and just hoping that his first day was a good one. Did he have any problems? No, he had a great day! Like usual, I worried for no reason. But, isn't that in my job description??

Photoshoot

Pete hasn't started school yet. They do things a little differently with kindergartners. Yesterday, his teacher came for a home visit. I think Pete has a great teacher and that he will have a fun first year at school! Mr. Taylor likes to play guitar and sing, which I know Pete will love!

Today, I decided was a good opportunity to try out my new camera lens on my little man, while Hailey was at school. Well, I will tell anyone who will listen how charming and what a sweet little boy Pete is. However when I got the camera out today, Pete's snips and snails, and puppy dog tails were acting up just a little bit. Pete will tell you that he is not sweet nor cute. He told me the other day, "I'm not cute. I am tough!! Tough as ROCKS!" OK Mr. tough man... You will always be cute to me.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

Not sure what the backwards looser sign is... Maybe a new kindergarten gang sign?

There's my sweet boy!

We Have a 2nd Grader

Today, Miss Hailey started 2nd grade. I set the clock for 6:35am, so that I could give her plenty of time to get ready, as she tends not to be a morning person. However, to my surprise when I went into her room, she wasn't in her bed. The bathroom light was on, but she wasn't in there either... I finally found her in Pete's room. They both had smiles on their faces and were playing nicely - how unusual, must mean that they know Summer vacation is officially over! I brought both kids and the puppy downstairs. Everyone ate their breakfast with quite a bit of speed (no dillydallying this morning). After her meal, Hailey quickly brushed her hair and teeth and put her shoes on. This girl was actually ready to walk out the door before Jeff was - again quite unusual! I have to admit that I was ready for the school year to start and I do believe that our Hailey felt the same way.

I've said it before, but how quickly time flies! In the blink of an eye...

Poor Old Pup!

Lately, Sydney hasn't been himself...  He just seems to be getting old so quickly.  For the last several months, he has had trouble getting down the stairs and has even fallen down them several times (14 hardwood stairs, ouch!!).  On Wednesday evening, Jeff and I noticed his blue eye had turned slightly pink.  By Thursday morning, it was very red and looked painful.  I took him in to the vet immediately.

Dr. Knox said the eyes often indicate something else going on and was suspicious.  They took blood, chest x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound.  $530.00 later, we found out he has tumors in his spleen.  Poor puppy!!  We don't know if it is cancerous yet, but more than likely, it is.  His chest x-ray looked clear, so maybe it hasn't spread yet.  Our doctor's office wants $2,000.00 to do the surgery.  We have an appointment at a different vet office on Monday to get another estimate on the surgery.

It is such a hard decision.  He has lived a good long life, but by dog years, he is certainly not ancient yet!  If we don't do the surgery and it is cancerous, it will certainly spread rapidly.  It is isn't cancerous and we don't do the surgery, the tumors will likely bleed and cause lots more pain.  Even if we do the surgery, there are no guarantees that he will be cured...

Poor Old Pup!

She Did it Again!

I received a call from Hailey's school at the beginning of last week, letting me know that Hailey was to be named "Student of the Month" at the spirit assembly on Friday.  It was to be a surprise for Hailey.  Jeff, Pete and I attended the assembly to see our girl receive the special recognition.  It was too funny, because as soon as Hailey came in with her class, she and her friend Riley started scanning the chairs where the parents were sitting.   They spotted us right away, so Hailey's big surprise was spoiled!  I know she was excited to receive the honor, but she certainly knew ahead of time...

Way to go BooBoo!!  You make us proud!

Long Time No Write...

I know, what's the point of starting a blog if you are never going to write anything...  Well, it was a busy summer.  The week after Hailey's graduation, we traveled back to Memphis for Pete's check up at St. Jude.  This was the first time Hailey had been back since we lived there.  I was surprised at how much she remembered.  We had a good trip and Pete had another good checkup!

After Memphis, we drive up to St. Louis and met our dear friends (the Schellhorn Family) at Six Flags to play a bit.  It was great to reunite Pete and Grant.  The bond between those two boys is really special.  Pete certainly doesn't have any other friends who have been through what he has - surgeries, chemo, radiation.  My dad said they should buy a lottery tick together when they turn 18!

At the end of June, Hailey and I traveled up to Portland for her MRI of her spine.  The results came back normal, thank God!  While we were there, we stayed the night at my dear friend Amy Ruth's house.  It was so nice to spend time with her and her family.  Addy Rae and Josiah are such cute kids!  We can't wait to meet baby #3 after it arrives in November!

I am having to look back at my pictures to see what else we did...  In July, we went to the 4th of July parade in Ashland.  This year we actually allowed the kids to stay up and we took them to see the fireworks in Ashland.  They were very tired, buy enjoyed it so much!  It was really cute how impressed they were, before the show started, with the little fireworks that people around us were putting off.  I just kept telling the, "Just you wait, just wait."  Well, they both thought it was well worth the wait (they didn't start until 10:00pm)!

Also in July we took the kids to the Jackson County Fair.  It was the same old fair...  But, I had to remind myself, how exciting the fair was to me, when I was a kid.  Hailey and Pete loved riding the rides, seeing the animals and they even got to pet an alligator.  Good times!

In August, we took a bit of a vacation to the coast.  We spent a couple days in Gold Beach with mom and dad, at their vacation house.  It is such a comfy and relaxing place to be.  From there, we headed up to North Bend for some camping, relaxing and play.  Pete finally decided that yes, he actually does like the sand rail.  Our friend Greg at camp kept asking him, "Who is your friend, Pete?" and Pete would reply, "SPEED!"  Daddy was so proud!

After our coastal excursion (also in August), Kim and the kids came up from California.  Ryan went to day camp at the Science Works Museum for a week with Hailey and Pete.  I think they had a good time, but hey were all very worn out every day after we picked them up.  The entire camp day was spent outside and it was rather hot...  Pete also got bitten by a bearded dragon (lizard) - OUCH.

That brings us to Septmeber again.  The summed whizzed by and now the Autumn winds are blowing, the leaves are starting to change, and we officially have a 1st grader!  Hailey has lost four theeth since the start of school last year.  The adult teeth change a kid's apperance so much!  She's not a baby anymore...  I think Haile is so cute with her two front top teeth missing.

The second Friday after school started, we picked Hailey and Pete up from school and went camping up at Howard Prairie Lake.  Jeff took the kids fishing for the first time.  They didn't catch anything, but had fun anyways.  We took the kid's new bikes with us and Hailey learned to ride without training wheels!  We stayed over two nights.  It was a quiet and relaxing last minute get-away.