we have been so busy lately that i have not had any time to post.

...


ok, that was a lie. but we have been doing a lot. G is back from Hawaii. he had a great summer there, although he came back rather un-tan for having had an entire summer in the sun. he got to learn how to boogie board and got to play in the ocean... i am soooooo jealous!

he came back right as Grandma Carol was visiting from Grand Junction for M's birthday. hard to believe she is already 5! i still remember when she was still a surprise in my belly. she had a great party with her two favorite people in the whole world. (Grandma Carol & Grandma Susie if anyone is wondering)
and only 3 days later, they got to go back to school. third grade for G and kindergarten for M. she cried when i dropped her off, so i am glad i got this picture of them before we left the house.

she has been doing well since then, she does a little better each day. as she was crying hysterically one morning that i left her there one of the other mothers commented that it must "break my heart." i admit that once upon a time it did, but now that she does it every time anything happens (even when grandma brings her home, she will cry like this for 30 minutes!) it effects me a bit less than it used to. i really do hope that it is just a phase and it goes away though.

G still loves school. he really loves anything that he gets to do. he is becoming more independent each day. i am glad that he seems to be a bit better at making friends as well. it is interesting trying to teach a kid that while it is not OK to lie, we really don't say everything that enters our minds either. not everyone likes to hear the truth about everything and sometimes it is OK to just keep our opinions to ourselves.
finally, this past weekend we went camping on the Platte River. M & CJ have never been before and everyone was excited. we got them all new outdoor sleeping bags and we had to get a tent big enough for all of us. we packed up the car and headed out and found a campground when we got up there. i guess that was kind of lucky though as we did not have a reservation. at least we know that for next time! we only went for the one night since it is the kids first time out, i figured that would be enough for all of us. they all brought their fishing poles and got to play in the river the next morning since it was only about ankle deep where we were.
it was a nice end to a fun summer.