The boys are off to school

The boys started school last week. Josiah is in first grade this year...where has the time gone? He loves school and his new teacher Mr. Bateman. He rides the bus and is growing up before my eyes. We are so proud of him! Isaac has started kindergarten this year. He has the same teacher Josiah had last year. We love Mrs. McCormick, she is great with the kids. He will be the class clown!!! He is very young for kindergaten so we hope he adjusts well to it. Mom and Dad have already had some time to ourselves while the kids are off at school. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary by going golfing and out to lunch. We decided against taking a vacation and each got something new. Hint... mine is sparkly.

Catching up....

The house is quiet.....today is the first day of school. Pictures and details of that to come. For now, I am catching up with blogging. We took a trip to Frankenmuth Michigan about three weeks ago. We went camping at the yogi bear, and the main point of the trip was to spend the day with Thomas the Tank Engine. Isaac had such a good time. He really thought he was at the Island of Sodor. We had such a good time just our little family. The campground had an indoor pool. Shade for daddy, sun area for mommy. They both could ride their bikes (without training wheels) down the roads of the campground. We could walk to the downtown area of Frankenmuth. We even shopped for school clothes in Birch Run. So much fun!!

Michigan Adventure

We took a trip to Michigan Adventure back in August. We went to celebrate Grandpa Trap's birthday. The boys had a great time with their cousins, Max and Ross.

Sunday afternoon

The boys were watching a movie downstairs, when I went down there to check on them. It was quite....I couldn't find Isaac.....I looked and looked.....said to Josiah, where is Isaac.....in his room mom sleeping......I don't see him Josiah......he is in his room mom.......Josiah I don't see him, where is he.......sleeping mom.......where is he sleeping?......in his room mom.

Found him.....under the bed.

Help yourself...

This is what happens when you tell Josiah to grab himself a spoon. He was trying to eat with a giant serving spoon. This, just after I was thinking I should set out the bowls and let him serve himself the cereal in the morning.

Family Beach Pictures

We headed out to the state park today to take some family pictures. It was very windy, I couldn't control my hair. So most of the pictures of the four of us are not that great. Also, I forgot to take my sunglasses off for half of the pictures. With a little editing some of them are okay. We will try again in the fall.

Few more vacation pics

Beach Fun....Not!!

Can you guess what happened? Josiah got HIT by a seagull. Surprisingly, he didn't freak out as bad as I thought he would.

More pics from our vacation

You'll notice the long pants and sweatshirts. It was very cold and rainy for most of the trip. We went to Mackinaw for the first half of the week and then to Traverse City the rest of the week. We had only one day of sun the entire week. The boys did swim in the lake and the pool a couple of times. Mom's bathing suit only came out once and not for long. We had a great time. More pics to come.

The Mason Family in Mackinaw

We met up with our friends Diane and Doug last week. They live in Virginia and were traveling to the U.P. to visit family. We were taking a trip to Mackinaw for vacation and were able to meet up with them. London and Cyrus are getting so big. It was great to see them. Wish we could see them more often!

Yogi Bear

Look how long I am mom.....

Look who weighs more....

Look who is scared of Yogi and not in the photo....

Summer Fun

This is the first week of summer vacation. We took the boys camping this past weekend to Yogi Bear. They had a good time swimming and playing on the playground. We found out they are growing up fast, as they played for hours on the playground while we watched from our campsite.
Both Josiah and Isaac started swimming lessons this week. They go 5 days a week for 2weeks, in the morning. First day dan and I were worrying the lessons would scare them from the water. These are serious lessons. Neither of the boys have really swam without life jackets before. The first day they had all the kids take turns swimming the length of the pool. Josiah went in after two nine year old boys who swam the whole length. He tried his best and made it 1/4 of the way. They had him get out and sit along the side of the pool to decide which level he would be at. Isaac came along and got in the pool with help and got out of the pool. He is in the lowest level and Josiah is in the third level. The first day Isaac wore a bubble around his belly and a noodle. He was told to move along the wall with his hands. Problem...he wouldn't move. By the end of the class, he was doing a little better. When I told him we were coming back the next morning, he told me he didn't want to do his lips. I think they wanted him to put his face in the water. "No mom i'm not doing my lips." By day two he was swimming all over with the noodle and bubble. He was waving to us in the bleachers, swimming backwards..not listening to his instructor. Josiah has enjoyed the lessons from day one. He loves the water and got to swim with fins on his feet. I think we found something he really enjoys with swimming.

Kindergarten graduation

Josiah had his kindergarten graduation last week. We couldn't be happier with this past school year for Josiah. He had such a special teacher this year, which really helped him boost his confidence and enjoy making friends this year. He will really miss Mrs. McCormick. He had learned how to read this year, and one night we heard him singing a song in Spanish. When I asked him to repeat it I could hear it was Twinkle, Twinkle little star. We were shocked he sang the entire song to us. It will be an interesting next year to have him gone all day 5 days a week in first grade.

Isaac's Last Day of Pre-school

Here are a few pictures of Isaac's last day of pre-school. He had such a great year at Rose Park. His teachers were awesome and he will miss all of his friends this summer. Next year he is off to Great Lakes with his brother. Look out Great Lakes.

Josiah the pet vet

Josiah had community day at school today. He couldn't stop talking about it when I picked him up from school. Tonight he has decide to become a veteranary when he grows up. So fun to watch him change his interests from day to day. Last week he wanted an incubator for his next birthday. They were hatching chicks in his classroom. He found one in the Tractor Supply catalog. Then when I told him our friend Abby had her baby he casually said, "Oh, she cracked it out." So cute to see how his mind works.

Four Years Ago

Four years ago today, we traveled home with our second son from Guatemala. Hard to believe it has been that long already. Isaac came home at 6 months old. We traveled with Josiah and both grandmothers. Goofy little baby, happy all the time, and boy did he have crazy hair. We usually celebrate with a dinner in his honor on his gotcha day. This year we will have his dinner on Sunday. Isaac will have both sets of granparents and two great-grandmothers here to share in his special day. He has brought so much joy to our lives. He has one infectious smile and people usually tell us he looks like trouble:) We love you Isaac!!

Isaac's bike parade

Friday Isaac was star helper in his pre-school class. They had a bike parade. I got to help decorate all the kids bikes and they paraded them down the school hallways and outside on the playground. He enjoyed it so much. He loves school, his friends, and his teachers.

Great Deals!

Take a look at all the groceries I bought today at Meijer, for only $7.61. Yes, that is right $7.61. I love a good deal and had to share in my excitement. I recently found out about using coupons (I know, where have I been?). I print them off and match them up to the sales. Dan doesn't share in my coupon excitement so I thought I share it with you all. The best deal from this trip was the hot dogs. Each 10 count pack was only .25 cents. The Ritz crackers were .50 cents. The cereal .80 cents. Capri sun $1.14. Graham crackers and other crackers $1.50 each. I know not very healthy choices in this bunch, but what a deal.

Soccer

Isaac has started playing soccer this year. We are on week #3. Week 1 he was to tired to participate, so he laid in the grass. Afterward, he missed out on the snack, which made him really upset. So week 2 he played and we couldn't keep him off the field. Even when it was his teammates turn, he would run out there. Week 3 he struggled to stay on task out on the field. Picking grass and summersualts was more interesting to him. He did play good, but didn't understand to stay inside the lines and kept running for the woods with the ball. Hopefully, we can work on his skills at home. He does it all smiling from ear-to-ear!

Josiah and The Bus

Since Josiah turned 6 in April, I thought it might be time to let him try riding the bus. He has wanted to ride it from the first day of school. So, I thought I would let go a little and let him try it. He did great and enjoys riding with all of his friends.

Easter....a little late