School Lunch

Ben and I ate lunch with Jacob today. I didn't tell him beforehand that we were coming. He was so excited when he saw us. There wasn't room to sit at Jake's table, so Ben and I sat a few tables away. Jacob said he couldn't sit with us, because he wasn't allowed to stand up until the showed the letter B. I told him I spoke with the "Lunch Lady" and she said he could come sit with us. He was all smiles as he and one of his BFFs "Ethan" sat with us also.

Mr. Independent

Ben puts up such a stink when I tell him to wear his bike helmet. Therefore, I don't argue with him when he insists on wearing it backwards. Bad mom? Probably. But I take my little successes when I can get them.

First Grade -- Part II

Jacob had a wonderful first day of 1st grade. There were just a few hiccups during the day, but all in all it was a success.

Jacob couldn't get the tupperware container with his sandwich open. He couldn't open his go-gurt. He brought home all the trash from lunchtime because he didn't know where to throw it away. He was too shy to ask for help. That was his reasoning at least; I don't think there's a shy bone in his body.

Anyway. I made his favorite dinner: spaghetti. We had a special FHE treat to celebrate his first day. It was a Mrs. Field's giant cookie that said "Happy Back To School." Needless to say it was a hit.

Welcome to First Grade

Today is Jacob's first day of First Grade! He is quite excited for school to start. He even let me pick out his outfit AND he put it on without any flack. This is coming from the kid who only wears Nike shorts and Mario/Star Wars/Bakugan shirts.

He gets to take his lunch (his choice); he didn't want to buy school lunch yet. Oh the joys of having a child in all-day school. I did get a little teary-eyed, but that was short lived. Now I get to spend some one-on-one time with Ben. I'm excited about that. But I will miss my tender-heart Jacob.

Ben had to put his CARS backpack on while we took Jacob to school. He even had to walk into the classroom, hang up his backpack, and sit at the desk next to his big brother. What a cute kid. He wasn't too thrilled when I said it was time to leave. A promise to check out a book about Trucks and Race Cars appeased him enough for us to escape without too much commotion.

Here are some funny and sweet pictures of the morning's events.

Jacob's Birthday Party Utah

We celebrated Jacob's birthday last night with the Utah family members. It was a combined party with his cousin Jacie who turns 9-years-old today. The kids were cute all sitting in a row on the stools in front of the t.v.






Jacie got to open her presents first (ladies first, of course). Jacob was surprisingly patient with that. He was just as excited as she was while she opened her gifts.






Jacob finally got his turn at opening gifts. He got so many favorites: Legos, DSi games, Game Stop gift card, cash. He even declared "I'm the luckiest kid ever!" Yes you are.



We (Jacob) decided to forgo the traditional cake and ice cream and instead eat ice cream sandwiches made out of Costco chocolate chunk and oatmeal raisin cookies. Yummy choice Jacob. It was a lot easier to clean up than the cake too. And of course the kids loved it.



Jacob even got a new bike from mom and dad. He literally wore the heck out of his old bike. The seat no longer stays stationary; the chain contraption falls off constantly, and his back wheel, not just the tire, is broken. He was due for a new bike. I think his smile says it all.


I love you Jake. You are such a good boy with a very sweet and tender heart. Thank you for making our family complete.

Home and Friends

I love vacations. I love seeing my family. But you know what I love the most? Coming home (to a clean home thanks to my pre-vacation cleaning marathon). I love my home. I love peace and quiet. I love my bed. I love love love home.

Jacob and Ben also slept so well last night in their own bed. Jacob had his friends over for a little DSi marathon. Oh boys!

Family Pictures

We had family pictures "done" by our own amateur cameras. The funniest part was trying to get a pictures with just my parents and the grandkids. No lie: all the kids were crying and would not stop, even for one second. These are the only pictures I got. I'm sure I'll get more later from the sibs.






I also got some cute pictures of Ben in the hotel watching "The Chipmunks" on his little DVD player. So cute!