He's a big boy now...

Matthew started First Grade today and if I was actually there to send him off I'd have the pictures to prove it. But I wasn't. Not even close. The girls and I are still out west visiting family (going on 5 weeks now) so I missed the big first day event.

Jim bless his heart is doing a fabulous job at home managing everything by himself. Orientation; meeting the teacher, paperwork, school pictures, paying fees...all of the things I normally would have taken care of are now his job, not to mention his very own full time job at the University. I know he'll be glad to have us return to ease some of that burden!

The girls and I have had a wonderful time together taking advantage of the waterfront/harbor near my mom's house and walking the dog at the dog park every morning...with coffee and hot chocalate as a treat afterwards.

Four more days until the wedding. My sister has done a fabulous job on her dress, three bridesmaid's dresses, and two flower girl's dresses. Ella Jane and her cousin are flower girls and are pretty much giddy with excitement. EJ asks daily, "can I wear my wedding dress today?", "can I wear my wedding shoes?" She will feel like a princess no doubt come Saturday.

A few more...

Just a few more I couldn't resist.

What I've been loving...

for my kids... is cousin time with their kids. There are 10 kids amidst our siblings both Jim and I (including our own), and we've loved all the playtime our kids have gotten with them.

They've been loving it too.

In very random order...

you'll see bits and pieces of our trip out West. We went sailing last week with my mom and Chas. Jim and I had a wonderful time. It's been 3+ years since we've last been out and what a treat it was to set sail again. Except that we didn't do anything to actually help sail the boat. Chas. and crew did that. We simply sat and enjoyed. Well, that and corralled children, put life jackets on and off, fed babies, and took pictures!

Campout '09...

My mom held the first annual Suyetsugu, Gunn, Harris campout last weekend. All of these kids are her grandbabies. Can you figure out which ones are siblings? They are all actually mini-me's of their mom's and/or dad's. The big kids had the task of holding Sara down and they did their job fabulously! Notice the grip? (Sorry for the underline...)




Well, the presentation of this post will be a little bit random since I'm not on my own computer. Other computers do funny things with my picture placement. Enjoy in random order, pics of the recent campout at my mom's house. I realize I have no pictures of the tents but almost everyone really did sleep outside.









Ella Jane very eager to get her m&m for sitting in the picture. Actually they all were very eager but I love how Ella Jane's hand is shooting straight up. How else are you going to get 7 young kids to sit for a picture? Behind these smiling faces is Auntie M. jumping up and down with a colorful bowl of candy!



Sara has had a bit of a rough ride as of late. Diagnosed with her third ear infection a week ago she's been none to thrilled to be out of mama's arms for more than a nano second the last two days. She's feeling better today and joined the big kids for some fun playtime this evening. It's fun to see her run around and laugh again!

Long summer days=dirty bathtubs at night...

The above is true when we were visiting Jim's family in the country. Life was full of outside play, animals, driving lessons in the old pickup, harvest, heat, and dust. The bathtub was literally covered with dirt at the end of Sara and Ella Jane's bath that I had to get new water for Matthew.

Lots of fun with all of our families, cousins, and grandparents.

And...

Three more weeks until the wedding.

Sara came down with an ear infection.

Jim and Matthew go home this Friday.

A few more friends to visit.

Just taking a moment...

to pop in and say hello. I just took a sip of my coffee and forgot I actually ordered a Chai Tea. Mmmm...what a nice surprise.

In the small town where we are the only Internet access is at the local library so off to town go to spend a bit catching up with the world.

Matthew was able to join a cousin in swim lessons this morning and loved it. His confidence in the water is really soaring which boosts my confidence of letting him go it alone. Ella Jane for now is content to sit on the steps but loves to be in the water just the same.

At the moment, we are spending our days in the country and I take my morning runs next to the wheat fields. It really is quite beautiful. And quiet!

The kids have gotten lots of time with cousins and for that we are grateful. And we are especially appreciative of older cousins who help to entertain! Thanks Kindra and Jared.

I think my 10 minutes are about up. Gotta run!

These days...

have been filled with many things. Mostly getting ready to go to grandma's house.

But first I have to share a quote from Ella Jane.

Let it be known I'm not famous for following through on projects, so when we were all huddled on Ella Jane's bed for story time (as we manage to do from time to time) I very impressively shared with Jim (mid-story) that I had washed Ella Jane's sheets and put them back on, all in the same day.

Ella Jane without missing a beat said, "Ann!, who's Ann!?" It took me a minute to catch it but when I did, I realized that she was so astute to hear what she did. And then I laughed. And Jim laughed. And I think she was left wondering, "what's so funny?" I resumed the story.

So these last few days have been spent making lists of things we need to do before we head to grandma's house. One of which is cleaning and lately, we've been harping at the kids to pick up after themselves, keep their rooms picked up etc. Everything is "tooooo haaaarrrrdddd....."

The older ones have also been talking a lot about when they become mom's and dad's and as a result of that I've caught Ella Jane saying things like "when I become a mom (in a sweet voice mind you) I'm not going to clean my room, and when I become a mom I'm going to tell Matthew that he has to clean his room." And my favorite from tonight, "I wish I was a mom right now so that I wouldn't have to pick things up." Oh dear one. If only you knew.

At the end of the day those moments in a way erase most of the harder moments. Like when Ella Jane and Matthew are fighting over the color blue for crying out loud. Or when one of them is bossy and the other is sassy or when both of them are bossy and sassy. Sigh...


On a much more cheerful note, Jim has taught Sara to go down the stairs. She's a pro at going up and can often be found upstairs in one of the big kids' rooms but will holler like there is no tomorrow (at the top of the stairs) when she's ready to come down. With this new found skill comes the desire to perfect it. So, up and down we go and squeal in delight at her success.

Matthew just came out of bed to tell me he finished the Magic Tree House book we had been reading together. It's so fun to see him in this stage of learning; reading on his own and really loving it. I think he loves the freedom that reading gives him. He's no longer in the dark and Jim and I can no longer spell across the dining room table!

Below are pictures from a week or two ago. We were out playing after dinner and Matthew and Ella Jane decided to take up dancing. They really can be each other's best friends and it's fun to see glimpses of that amidst all the squabbling.

So, while the last few days have been a bit harried I'm looking forward to the next few days amidst our preparations for heading west.

***And we did enjoy that cherry pie. Thanks again Donna for all of the cherries!