First day of a new year

My kids were excited to head off to school yesterday to start s new year.

Braden and Gracie were both up half the night, so had a little trouble getting up and around on Monday morning. I think they were just excited and anxious about the next day.

Despite that, we still made it with time to spare. Barely :)




6th, 1st and 4th.

Sometimes it seems like I just blinked and they are already this big!

And sometimes it feels like we've lived every one of those days and school years to get here :)

I'm so, so proud of them!

Sis needed an individual pic. Sweetness!



Rhett obliged. And then did this to me right as my finger hit the button on my phone... Silly boy!



Big B wasn't interested in anymore pics. When I asked him if he wanted one to look back on, he said, "I'm good..." as he climbed into the car.

He made it through his first day of Middle School with flying colors. Loved it. So happy and proud of him!

R and G love their new teachers and were arguing over who's was the nicest :) I'd say that's an A+ first day!!!!

I'm praying that this entire school year is their best yet!!!

So cute

I snapped these pics of B and his puppy dog the other day. They sat like this for a while, it was too cute:)

Getting ready: Thrifty Style

Ok, so I'm trying to get this school year started off right. I cannot make any promises that my ultra-preparedness will last, but I'm sure striving for it!
Today's topic: Lunches. I have a tendency to be the world's worst for frantically throwing stuff in the kids' lunch boxes right before we walk out the door b/c I just realized they wouldn't like what was being served in the cafeteria.
They love those Uncrustables but, I'm sorry, it seems ridiculous to pay $6 for 8 frozen PB&J Sandwiches. I mean, seriously, there's probably $1 worth of food in the whole box!
So, here's my being prepared ahead of time solution. I made my own!
I used my handy Pampered Chef sandwich cutter/sealer.




It took me less than 10 minutes to make these. And that includes the ninety-hundred interruptions I had b/c I had 8 kids in my house at the time. (Summer Sleepover Spectacular... :) )
I put them on the tray to pop them in the freezer for a little bit before putting them in baggies. That way they wouldn't get all smushed when I put them all in 1 big bag.




After they froze up a bit, I put them in Individual bags, then put all the little bags in 1 big bag. Then I popped the big bag in the freezer. Voila!




I made a big batch of Uncrustables and it only cost me about $1 for the loaf of bread and a little PB and J out of the jars I already had at home.
Score!!
Now the challenge will be keeping the munchkins out of them until school starts. Seriously, if I let them, they'd have the entire batch eaten in 1 or 2 days!
And on a side note, all 3 of them have declared to me multiple times this week that they are ready for school to start. :) Thank you, Lord! I'm tickled pink that they are all excited about the upcoming school year!!

NWA Krispy Kreme Challenge

Wow! Have I got an opportunity for you!! You have got to check out the information on the NWA Krispy Kreme Challenge.

What is it, you ask?

Well, are you ready for this??

There are 5 ways to participate.

1) ULTIMATE CHALLENGER- one person runs the 2 mile course, eats a dozen donuts, runs the 2 mile course back to the finish (first place winner prize)

2) SPLIT IT TEAM- one person runs the 2 mile course and eats 1/2 dozen donuts. second person eats 1/2 dozen and then runs the 2 mile course to the finish

3) RUNNER/EATER TEAM- one person runs the 2 mile course, second person eats the dozen donuts, person one finishes the 2 mile run to the finish

4) RUNNER ONLY- one person runs the 2 mile course, watches everyone else eat the donuts and runs the 2 mile course back calorie free

5) EATER ONLY- enjoy the dozen donuts while watching everyone else run the course and participate while raising money for charity

Race info...
WHEN: SATURDAY, September 8, 2012
Race Time: 8am
Course: Horsebarn road trail. Runners will begin the race at the trail head in the south parking lot of Kraft Foods, 5509 Pinnacle Point Dr, in Rogers. The course will go north along the Horsebarn Trail up to the Krispy Kreme parking lot in Bentonville. If runners are signed up to eat the dozen, they will begin the challenge at Krispy Kreme. If runners a participating in the team challenges, they will find their team mate or mates in the parking lot of Krispy Kreme. Runners that are not eating donuts at all may get their race bib checked off and head back or watch everyone else. Participants that are just eating the donuts and not running, may set up lawn chairs in the Krispy Kreme parking lot and watch the event.
Prize given to first place finisher that participates in the ULTIMATE CHALLENGER.
...

For more information, check out the facebook page or the blog
nwakrispykremechallenge.blogspot.com
 register on race-wizard.com TODAY!!! The first 200 registrants get t-shirts!

How fun is this?!?!

All proceeds from this event benefit our sweet friends, The Bennington's China Special Needs Adoption!!!

We would love to have our friends and family come out and support this awesome cause!!

Also, if your business, or a business owner that you know would like to sponsor this great event, contact The Benningtons through their blog, or contact me and I will get you connected. This is a great opportunity!!

Please help us to spread the word about this event on facebook or your blog too!

Thank yall! Hope to see you there!

A few vaca days

Daddy had the rare opportunity to take off work a few days so we headed back up to KC for a little fun before summer is over.

We ate at T-Rex Cafe.






We went to a soccer game! We got to see Sporting play Stoke City, an English Premier Team. It was a 1-1 tie!








The boys were trying to get a pic with their fav Kai Kamara after the game (he didn't play but they spotted him!) They weren't able to get one with him, but this is the closest they got to him :)


We went to Sea Life Aquarium!








The jellyfish are so beautiful.


Sissy wanted a pick of a pink one :)


We went to Legoland!








Livestrong Sporting Park-in Legos!


Here's Kansas Speedway in Legos for Me Me and Pa Pa!


Watching the 4D movie.


Gracie and I built a house together.


Daddy and the boys built a car that beat all the other cars as the test track! We didn't get a pic of it before they sent it on a suicide mission and broke it :)

Daddy bought them a set of plain Legos and when we got back to the hotel they played with them non stop!
Here's some of the stuff they built!

It was some sort of house/police dept type place :)





Hers's a ninja hiding in their tree.


Braden built an Xbox console


A pontoon boat


A truck and trailer



We also did a little shopping at the mall and J bought me my birthday present a little early! I needed a new bible so bad.... I've been using the one I bought for myself in 1996. More than 50% of the pages were scotch taped together, and I had to use fabric to recover the cover years ago b/c it wouldn't stay together :)
This is the one I wanted and we found it on the discount rack! Score!! I love it!


We had some great family time that was much needed. So thankful for the opportunity to get away for a few days!!!

We are already making plans to go back for 1 night to watch a certain soccer game in the fall! :)

Can't wait!!