1st Day of School---2015

 Another school year has begun...2015! 

My boys are at the beginning of a year full of endings.  My Oldest is a senior in high school and my Youngest is in 5th grade (his last year in elementary school).  It's going to be a strange, crazy ride this year.  My goal is to enjoy every moment of it and every moment I can with my boys, since this is a year of change.

My Oldest is taking such classes as:  Band, French, AP English 4, AP Politics & Government, AP Statistics, AP Psychology and AP European History...he is going to be very busy!  He is also working on his Eagle Project for Boy Scouts, this has been a long, hard road, but worth every minute of it!  He just attended his Ordeal for Order of the Arrow (Scouting Honor Society) that concentrates on giving service to their community, again I am so very proud of him and his accomplishments!  It's so hard to believe that he'll be 18 later this year, and I'm going to spend as much time with him before he goes out to live/make his own way.

My Youngest is in 5th grade, that means he gets to do exciting things like beginning Orchestra (he's not sure if he's going to play the violin, viola or cello), and he'll be in the Honor Choir at school.  He's loving social studies and math and this will be his first full year in Gifted and Talented.  On the Scout front, he'll be earning his Arrow of Light (the highest Cub Scout award you can earn) and he'll be graduating into a Boy Scout Troop!  He's still very active in baseball, his first double header of the fall season is tomorrow night and it sounds like he might be doing some pitching (he's very excited about this prospect...me, not so much!) 

My husband and I are learning to let go...was it not just yesterday that we brought the boys home?  Our plan is to start concentrating on us...we will still be active in Scouting, but my role as a Cub Scout leader will be over and my role as a Scout Mom will begin.  We both enjoy camping and cooking...we might start cooking classes together, travel and gardening...I love that man more every day!  I'm going to hug them and kiss them and cuddle with them as much as possible and love them with all of my heart!

Me & My Mom

 

 



If you knew me in real life, would you know that my best friend is my Mom...always has been, always will be.  My husband is a close second, but when someone has known you your entire life, well she's my best-est friend ever!

My husband is always teasing me when the phone rings and it's her on the other line or I pick up the phone and call her...even though we just spoke yesterday and tied up the phone for hours.  I can't help it,  she likes the same things I do, we share family, we have many of the same hobbies and if we need another opinion, we ask each other. 

I look at her gray hair, and her blown knee and her arthritis and it saddens me that she is getting old.  The women in my family tend to live along time, but I see the years wrinkling her face and I know I'm going to lose her one day and my heart breaks. 

So until she leaves me for heaven, I'm going to have to spend more time with her, do more stuff with her, enjoy her company and her wisdom and her sense of humor more.  I love you Mom.

It's been a few years since I used this blog, but I've been feeling a need to write down my thoughts and feelings and so I've decided to revive it for this reason.  This is a big year for my family:  I have a child in his last year of elementary school AND cub scouts and I have a child who's a Senior in high school AND working on his Eagle Award.  A lot of endings this year and I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with them. 

I'm over 40 now, working full time, still a scout leader and a baseball Mom and a wife to a wonderful, wonderful man.  I have so many thoughts and plans running through my head, I'm not sure I can keep them all straight!  Anyway, I'm happy to be back!

Marching Band---1st performance!

My Oldest went off to high school this year and boy is he busy.  Between school, marching band and baseball, we never see him!  This is his 1st marching performance at a High School Football game...Norman North vs. Norman High School (The Crosstown Clash!) 

He looks like he's enjoying himself!

 The Crosstown clash is always held at Memorial Field at the University of Oklahoma..that's Sooner turf!

 Front row, saxophone player

 Here come the football players.

My Youngest enjoying the game.  We had a lot of fun!

My Oldest LOVES marching band, but I think he'll be happy when he doesn't have to be at the school at 6:45 AM every morning.  GO TIMBERWOLVES!

September Birthdays

Labor Day at our house always means birthday party!  Both my Husband and my Youngest were born on Labor Day, but their birthdays are actually 2 days apart, so we always celebrate their birthdays the Sunday before Labor Day.  Actually we usually celebrate my son's birthday, and Dad usually gets a pat on the back and a Happy Birthday and maybe a card or two.  This year my Hubby reached the big 40!  so we made an effort to celebrate his birthday, but in such a way that he didn't know it was coming.  Can I say SUCCESS!

 We lit the candles and wondered if we needed to call the fire dept.  That was a lot of candles on the 2 cakes.

 My son wanted an army party and he wanted camouflage clothes so no one could see him.  He LOVES his new outfit and Dad had fun shopping for all of the accessories you see on his belt.

 We didn't leave Dad out of the presents either.  Black balloons, his own cake (yellow with chocolate frosting that he never gets) and a beer cake from his loving wife, but made by a good friend, who then snuck it in when she came over for the party.

 The adult guests.  We also had 3 teenage boys playing video games in the family room, and my Youngest and his 2 younger cousins playing in his bedroom.  It was crowded, but alot of fun!

                                                             The cakes are all alight!

For his camo/army themed birthday party, I made him a camo cake, inside and tie-dyed on the outside.  It was easier than it looked. 

Well...another round of September birthdays in the books.  Now to start planning for my Oldest, who will be 15 in November.  Happy Birthday Boys!

The Cousins at the Pack Olympics

In August our Cub Scout Pack had their very own Olympics with games and medals and fun!  The Youngest counsins all went and had a blast, and they all came home with cookie medals, even little J!

Last Day of Swim Lessons

My boys have to take swim lessons every summer.  Due to experiences that happened to me when I was younger, swim lessons are non-negotiable in our house.  My Oldest graduated out of them last year though, and he proved it by passing his BSA swimmer at summer camp this year and earning his Swimming Merit badge.  That just leaves my Youngest at the pool this year and he made some great progress and passed Level II.  Congratulations!

And of course, the one thing they all look forward to on the last day...THE SLIDE!

 He gets to take Level III next year.  That's when the real lessons start...they learn the different strokes, and diving and hopefully he won't be terrified of the deep water next year!