A busy Saturday

Joshua's party at Miller Swim School was a big hit. I got some great pictures.
All of the boys enjoyed the diving board.
Joshua was so excited about the secret agent legos that he got from his Papa & Mimi!
Our Saturday was very busy! We started off the day with Jacob's soccer game. The game was 20 minutes late getting started and Jacob ended up playing for the other team for a little while because they didn't have enough players. He actually scored a goal for them but didn't score one for his own team. Oh well! Atleast he made a goal. Some of our family came for the game but my parents couldn't come so we met them for lunch at CiCi's. Then we had Joshua's party from 2:00 to 4:00. The boys had a blast and Joshua loved his gifts - mostly legos and gift cards/money (which he used to by more legos and a Lego Batman game for the Wii). Kenneth's Aunt Cathy and his cousin's daughter, Makenzie, spent the night with us. It was Cathy's birthday so we fixed tortilla soup (Cathy's favorite) and tacos for supper. Then, Cathy took Caleb and Makenzie to the High School Musical on Ice show. Needless to say, at the end of the day we collapsed from exhaustion. Kenneth and I were ready for bed at 9:00 but we waited for them to get back from the show. It was a busy but fun day!

Tiger / Hawk

Well, Jacob is officially a Tiger Cub now. He had his first den meeting. I think he will really enjoy it! He is most excited about bb guns, archery and camping out. I must be honest and admit that all of these have me a little concerned. The thought of Jacob with a gun or a bow and arrow is a scary thought! And camping out is definitely not my forte. Jacob doesn't mind his shirt as much as Joshua does. He wanted the hat too and is trying to talk me into a belt also. Not only is Jacob a Tiger, he is also a Hawk now. His new soccer team is the Hawks. He actually came up with the name for their team because one of Caleb's previous teams was the Hawks. Last week was his first game and he and I got poured on. I lost my cell phone in the process of running to the car during the flood. Thankfully, yesterday's game had much better weather. His team lost but the team they played against was really good. Jacob managed to score a goal and he had quite a few great blocks/saves also. He is definitely defense minded. He may end up being a goalie someday because he loves to protect the goal. I've attached a few pictures so you can see how cute he looks in both uniforms.

New activities, new opportunities, learning new things

Our cute, little Scout in his monkey suit - that's what he called it.
Caleb is still a legomaniac and Joshua has turned into one too.
We were getting pennies out for a United Way drive at school & Jacob made a star man out of them. That gave Joshua the idea to make a person out of his. They are so creative!

Well, we had our first pack meeting for Cub Scouts this week. It was a bit chaotic but I think Joshua and Jacob are really going to enjoy it. I got a picture of Joshua in his uniform and he looks so cute. I might be a little biased. I will post a picture of Jacob later since I haven't gotten his uniform yet. He told me he wants one of the hats. Joshua doesn't. Jacob's new thing is wanting to know how to write all of our names in cursive. He does a pretty good job writing them for a six year old. I keep telling him that he doesn't have to know how to write in cursive in first grade. I asked him the other day if he is going to be a writer like Caleb when he gets bigger. He has nice handwriting and loves to write words. He also loves to draw so maybe he will write and illustrate his own book someday. Who knows? Speaking of writing. Caleb is also writing for a blog. This summer he got to be a part of the Young Writer's Institute that the Tulsa World put on. Now he is writing for a civics blog that is in connection with the Tulsa World. If you want to check it out the website is www.tulsaworld.com/mockelection. We are so proud of him! The website is mostly for teachers to use with their classrooms but I am spreading the word about our famous son.

Back to School Swim Party

Joshua had a blast with the water sprayer. There was a water war going on at times.
Caleb loves to swim and loves to spend time with friends so today was a perfect combo.
Jacob wanted to do the splits in the air. He closed his eyes because he didn't have on goggles.
Caleb and Curtis are still such good friends after six years of knowing each other. Jacob didn't know that Anna was giving him bunny ears. They are both very ornery.

The boys were invited to a back to school swim party at the Wolf's house today. They were very excited! The Wolf's are a wonderful christian family that we've gotten to know over the years. They have four kids - two boys and two girls. Their oldest son, Curtis, has been friends with Caleb since first grade. Braden is in fourth grade and gets along well with Joshua and Jacob. Anna was in Jacob's class last year. They are a lot alike. Zoe is four and she absolutely adores Caleb. They just had a pool put in this summer. They were out of town over Labor Day weekend and invited us to come over and use their pool while they were gone. It was wonderful because the boys love to swim and it was hot.

Random acts of kindness

Ok, I hadn't planned on writing again this soon but I feel like I have something to say. I've been thinking about how much the small things mean. For example, a smile, a hug, a few kind words can make someone's day. I've been feeling kind of down the last couple of days. Today, I got on facebook and was surprised to see a comment from one of our former youth. Her kind words literally made my day. I think we get so busy with our own lives that we don't take the time to do something kind. It doesn't take something big though. We don't have to do something extravagant or something time-consuming. It can be as simple as a few kind words. We never know what kind of effect they will have on the other person. So, I encourage you to show a little kindness. Send that note (or make that comment), make that call, give that hug. You might just make someone else's day.

Back to School

Jacob and Mrs. Forbis
Joshua and Jacob on the 1st day of school
Caleb will be as tall as me soon Joshua and Mrs. Ennis

Well, we are getting back into the swing of things with school and various activities. Caleb is enjoying being back at the 6th & 7th grade center and it's been an easier adjustment this year than it was last year. He likes all of his teachers. He's taking three advanced classes - Advanced History (his teacher is Jacob's soccer coach from last year), Pre-Algebra (homework almost every day) and Advanced English (he will be doing lots of creative stuff in this class). He is still in the band - still playing percussion. We got him a guitar and he will hopefully start lessons atleast by October. He is also working on a civics blog with some other middle school students (through the Tulsa World). Joshua has the same teacher that Caleb had for third grade. We are very excited about that because she is Caleb's all-time favorite teacher (he still goes and visits her sometimes). He will be starting cub scouts next week and is really excited about that. He's not playing soccer this year but Jacob is. I will probably have some soccer pictures and scouting pictures to post soon. Jacob might be doing scouts also - if someone volunteers to be the den leader. That someone will definitely not be me! Jacob has the same teacher that Joshua had for first and second grade. We are excited about that also. Kenneth is loving his new job and we are loving having him home more and having him be less stressed. God is so good! I am enjoying having some time to myself again. I am trying to get back into a work-out schedule and I'm trying to catch up on some of my scrapbooking.

Joining the rank of bloggers

Ok, I told Kenneth that he needed to start blogging again and now I decided that I would too. Kenneth doesn't even know that I'm doing this. I love to surprise him since it's so hard to do. We were just talking last night about how predictable I am (I said that - not him). So, I decided to try something new. Now, don't expect to read anything profound like you will read on my husband's blog (unless of course God gives me something profound to say). I mostly want to do this to update everyone on what is going on in our lives. I will post pictures too if I can figure out how to do it. Beth might have to help me with it. My next post I will try to fill you in on what's happening in our family.