Flowers

Everyday this week (except Monday), Jayden has brought his teacher flowers.  If we walk to school, then he picks what he can find along the road.  If we drive to school, then he goes around the yard and picks things from our very much-in-need-of-a-mowing grass and our garden (lavendar and zinnias on this day)

Jayden says he is going to bring her flowers every day.   Who wouldn't want this kid in their class????

1st Day of School

Jayden started kindergarten today!  Kindergarten!!!  I can hardly believe it!  I feel like we have been working towards this forever.  We pretty much started helping Jayden come to terms with kindergarten since he got out of pre-k last spring  Jayden likes routine and really needs to feel safe and has a very active imagination which tends to cause him a lot of anxiety.  Just last night, he proclaimed we could no longer go to the zoo because Willow was now big enough that she could climb over the wall that overlooks the hippo pool, and to keep Willow safe, we needed to stop going to the zoo.  This all stems from that fateful April Fools Day when Willow lost one of her shoes in the hippo pool and the hippo ate it.  Why he was worried about it last night?  I don't know.  The whole time Royal was up in Alaska, during his prayers at night, he would ask God to keep Royal safe and to help him not fall out of the boat and get eaten by a killer whale, and to keep killer whales away from Royal's boat.  It did not matter that we kept reassuring him there weren't going to be any killer whales next to dad's boat, he just couldn't get it out of his head.  And kindergarten?  Well, back in May, Jayden said very firmly that he was NOT going, especially if he was going to have a different teacher and different kids in his class.  And we have worked with him all summer, validating his feelings over and over and over.  Every time we drove by his new elementary school, we would say, 'There's your new school!'  And after weeks and probably months of his closing his eyes tight and shouting he wasn't going there, he finally started asking a question here and there about it.  Then we "snuck" (he thought we were breaking rules and he thought that was fantastic!) into the school playground a couple times.  Last week we had meet the teacher night and he walked right in and introduced himself to his new teachers.  Then later in the week, we went back for his kindergarten screening and he made sure Royal and I weren't leaving the building, but he marched right in and did really well on his tests.   I knew he was going to do great today.

Jayden woke up this morning and said he was excited to go to school.  We went to our exercise class and someone asked him about starting school - last year he would have hid his face in my leg and acted like that person didn't exist - this year he just said, 'Yup!  Today's my first day and I'm excited!"  I was feeling so relieved that this wasn't going to be a battle, that we were going to be able to get out the door without having to get in the car 15 minutes earlier than we needed to, while we waited for Jayden to come out of the house on his own.  However, we had a small little hiccup.  Jayden decided he wanted to walk to school, which on most days really isn't too big of a deal, it's only about a mile from our house.  But today, it has pretty much been raining all day, and Royal had come home from work to take Jayden to school with us, and walking a mile to and a mile back from school in his dress shoes would only result in blisters, not to mention we'd all be soaked from the rain.  So, I'm sure because of the nerves Jayden probably was already feeling about school, this just wasn't acceptable and he started crying and getting really upset and said there was no way he was going to school then.  Well, crapola....with Jayden acting like this, there was no way I was going to get first day of school pictures.  So, we got in the car 10 minutes before we needed to, and on our way out the door told Jayden what we were doing and that we'd wait for him there. 

Here we are....waiting for him....

We finally heard the front door open and before Jayden could dart back in the house, Royal helped him get in the car....

We only got to school about 5 minutes late...

We got Jayden to his classroom, found his locker, got his backpack hung up, and he started to perk up a little.  Although, he still refused to let me take his picture, or at least acknowledge me wanting to take his picture.

Then he found his seat and got to business.  I pretty much didn't exist anymore and he didn't even say goodbye.  Guess he is going to do just fine!

So, Royal, Wilow and I headed for the door and as we stepped outside and held the door open for Wilow.....she refused to leave.

"I'm staying at school.  With Jaydo!"  (these are her mad lips)

I think it's going to be a long year for Willow, and Royal and I are seriously considering putting her in pre-school next year when she's 3.  :)


Willow and I went back to the school 3 hours later and picked Jayden up.  He jumps in the car and when I ask him how his first day was he says, "Well!  I didn't get sent to the principal's office!"  Well... fantastic!!!  Then he gave me a packet of papers and this:

And then I bribed him with an ice cream sundae if he'd let me take his "first day of school" picture on the porch.  However, there was no way Willow was letting him out of her sights.

And trying to get a decent picture of these 2 together is pretty much impossible...

Last Day of Summer

Today was our last day of summer vacation.  Jayden starts kindergarten tomorrow, and I believe he is actually excited about it!  Royal starts school this next week too, but his classes are going to cut into our family time a bit more this year.  He has 2 evening classes and 1 class that is all day on Saturday.  Yuck!  So, this weekend, we tried to spend as much time with Royal as we could.  We went to the zoo, a birthday party, Jayden and Royal took the dog on a really long walk, church this morning, and movie night tonight with popcorn and everything! 

Royal also spoiled the kids this weekend with a new kiddie pool for the backyard.  You all remember what happened to our dino pool during a storm a couple weeks ago, right?  Well the dino pool couldn't be repaired and lucky for us the summer pools are starting to go on sale and we found this dragon pool in the back of the pile and we just knew it was for us!

 

Jayden is getting a bit big for these little kiddie pools, but he still has a pretty good time!

New Super Heros

Jayden has been begging for a new super hero cape for while now, but kind of off and on, and since he already has a dino cape that I made him, and the children have a history of not really loving things that I make - not sure why, they're AWESOME! - I was kind of hesitant to go out and get him material for a new cape.  However, while grandma was here, she was in dire need of a nap, so I drug Jayden with me to Hobby Lobby and told him we could search for new cape material.  He was a little grumpy about the whole thing, said there was no material there that would make a good cape, until he spotted the super shiny metallic material in the way back corner.  Perfect for super hero capes.  He picked out gold and silver for his own, and silver and pink for Willows.  And then I spent a few hours trying to bend the extremely slippery material to my will and came out with these!

Willow a.k.a Sparkle Girl   She named herself after her favorite sparkle shoes she had on today.  (I apologize again about the hair, but I believe I've pleaded my case before)

And Jayden a.k.a ????  When I asked him what his super hero name was he said, "I can't tell you, it's a secret"  Oooooookay!

And I believe we've heard before that "you don't need pants to save people!" Obviously these two come from the same stock!

Freezer Full of Fish

Royal made it back from Alaska last night with 160 pounds of fish in tow! Well, actually, really early this morning.  He was suppose to get in around 11, which for me is really late to be out and about!  But taking 3 planes across the country you are bound to run into delays, especially we've found, if you are flying United, so he didn't get in until around 1am this morning.  I was so tired driving to the airport, I kept finding myself driving like 10 under the speed limit.  Oops!  Good thing there weren't many cars on the road!  :)

I sent Royal to Alaska with a camera and an assignment to take A LOT of pictures.  He came back with a whopping 38 pictures, which for him is a lot.  Over 7 days, that's a little over 5 pictures a day!

Here is their camping/fishing set up in Sitka.  Royal got to snuggle up with his dad at night and after sharing a bed with all 6 feet of Wayne, I'm pretty sure he's not going to accuse little ole 5'1" me of hogging the bed anymore!

With a view of the ocean!  That's what I'm talking about!  Salty water within walking distance!!!  With fog and everything!  Ahhhh to feel cool and damp.....

Here's Fireball out in the boat.

And some of the fish they caught!  Royal's holding a 45lb halibut and 2 10lb yellow eye rockfish.

 

 

Here Royal is holding a 35lb Chinook (a.k.a king salmon).  He caught 2 of those!  Most of the other fish they caught were Cohos (a.k.a silvers), and there were a couple sea bass in there too!

To try and entice me to one day move to Alaska with him, he took lots of pictures of the things he knew I've been missing out here in K-land.
Water and Trees and Mountains.

Little sea otters and their pups

And Bald Eagles soaring around.  The only bald eagle's I've seen here are sitting in the zoo!

It's been a long week around here with Royal being gone, but it kinda feels worth it when I open my freezer and it now looks like this!  with more fish stuffed in the door and more stuffed in the freezer in the house!

**disclaimer** I know Royal usually looks far happier when he's holding a fish in his hands.  But the face you are seeing in the pictures is the face of Royal as he's trying to explain to his 66 year old dad how to use a digital camera (his dad uses disposable box cameras) and that you have to look for him on the screen not in a little view finder and his dad saying he can't see anything and doesn't know what he's doing and then pushing the button and taking a picture.  And in the world of Royal and Fireball, there is not a lot of patience, so there is not a lot of do-overs.  I assure you, from listening to Royal's voice on the phone every night, he was much happier then these pictures show....

Rock'n Route Triathlon

Today was the race my friend Kerri and I, for the past 11 weeks, have been training for.  The Derby Rock'n Route Triathlon!  I was actually pretty excited about this race.  Since doing Mudwater, I knew where I fit amongst the "pack" of people that would be there, so I wasn't worried about being last.  The swim was in a pool with a staggered start so I wasn't worried about drowning or getting run over so much, I really liked the route for the run, the temperature this morning was about 10 degrees cooler, and, as a bonus, I wasn't sick this time!  Last night, I realized I wasn't nervous about the race, that I hadn't been having nightmares about forgetting things, so then I started worrying about not worrying and that since it wasn't on my mind all the time I probably WOULD forget something.  See?  Even if I don't have anything to worry about, I'll make something up!  :)

Yay!  Number 137!

I woke up this morning at 4:30, got ready and headed out the door.  I met Kerri in the transition area and we set up our stuff together, and went and got body marked, and got our timing chips, and wandered around, and finally got in line to wait our turn to start the race.  The swim went really good, I thought.  I have no idea what my time was since I still don't have a watch, but my body felt good and I was able to swim the whole distance without stopping.  I bounced out of the pool and ran to get my bike stuff on.  I got on my bike and started to mentally prepare myself to chase people down and blow past them. "relax your shoulders, pull with your feet, tighten your core, regulate your breathing, ignore the annoying water drips going down your legs, don't shift down just keep pushing until the pedals feel easier - then spin, etc..."  Somewhere around mile 4 maybe, the road felt different under my bike.  I pushed on, just sure it was that the texture of the road had changed for a second, but the weird feeling didn't go away.  I tried to take a look back at my rear tire to see if something was wrong, I couldn't really see anything too much, but it still felt weird, then I notice I am slowing WAY down, and I know exactly what is wrong.  I jump off my bike, hoping I'm wrong, but there it is.  A big, fat, flat tire.  I have no spare tube and even if I did, I don't know how to change my tire (guess it's time to learn).  I. Was. So. Bummed.  I walked my bike back about a mile to the last intersection where there was a race volunteer and a police officer and had them radio in to get me a ride back to the start line.  I couldn't believe it.  I'm not sure why I'm so surprised, I seem to have an issue with flat tires, but so far they have only been on my stroller, I've never gotten one on my bike, and what are the chances that I get one during a race?  Ugh.  I'm just so depressed about the whole thing.  It's so anti-climatic.  All this preparing, all this building up, all those early, early mornings when I didn't want to get up, but I did, to get to this point, only to not finish.  The constant obsessing over the past week about what I'm eating, how much am I drinking, am I hydrated enough, am I getting enough sleep, am I making sure I don't workout too much so my legs and arms feel good just for this day.  Everything I had worked so hard for this whole summer ruined by a teeny, tiny, little rock.  I found the little rock stuck in my tire that has caused all my angst, and at the moment I felt like hurling it as far as I could down the road.  But instead, I saved it and am thinking about framing it because I hate it so much, and I am now trying to channel all my rage and frustration into it so I don't make a giant batch of chocolate chip cookies and eat them all.  Because you all know that's how I deal with things.  I stuff my feelings, and then I stuff my face....

And just to show you how tiny of a dagger the stupid thing is....did you notice it on the picture above of my race number?  If not, here's a close up.

How in the world did I manage to run that one little rock over?  Out of all the places I could have ridden my bike, it was in the path of this stupid tiny rock.  *sigh*   I'm sure tomorrow I'll feel better, but for right now, I'm depressed and angry.  I hate you little rock.

Storm Damage

Holy smokes there was a big storm that rolled in last night!  I really need to do a better job of paying attention to the weather, one of these times it's gonna come back and bite me!

Let me get you a little caught up, though.  Early Tuesday morning, Royal left for Alaska.

Look at those long sleeves!  I wish I was somewhere I could wear long sleeves.  I talked to him on the phone last night and he said he's already caught enough fish to fill a 50lb box!  Yes!!!!

So, while Royal's away, his mom decided she'd fly in and help me with the kids.  I know she would've preferred me to fly with the kids to Washington, but I have a triathlon this weekend and it's just too close to school starting to drag the kids through time changes.  Jayden starts kindergarten in just 18 days!

Grandma Norma's been a trooper though and trying not to complain about the heat too much. 

Last night Norma and I were down in the basement watching a movie after the kids had gone to bed.  I knew there were suppose to be some thunderstorms, but this time of year I've never experienced a bad storm, so I didn't think too much of it, figured I see some flashes and hear some thunder.  Well, the lights flickered a couple times and then I heard some of the kid's toys moving around under the deck.  So, I finally checked the weather and the advisory said there were going to be like 80mph wind gusts.  Holy smokes!  So, I finally looked out the basement window under the deck and I noticed the kid's pool was not there anymore.  We had lost it one other time earlier this year, but we managed to retrieve it unharmed.  I then heard all our deck chairs moving around, so I ran upstairs to get all the stuff on the deck put away.  I was getting hit with rain and ice pellets and once we got the chairs stacked and the towels and clothes and toys picked up, the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't get the door opened again.  Norma had to push the door from the inside while I pulled on it from the outside to get it open enough for me to get back in the house.  It was really dark outside and I looked for the pool with each flash of lightning, but couldn't see it.  I figured with that wind we may never see it again.  About an hour later the storm calmed down and I went to bed.  When we got up this morning, I looked outside to see if I could find the pool.  I did.  It flew over our 6ft fence and I think the only reason it didn't go any further than it did was because it got snagged on our neighbors iron fence.

It has some holes in it, but grandma and I are going to dry it out and see if we can patch it up and limp it through the rest of summer (a summer that feels like it's never going to end)

Unfortunately there was a bit more damage.  Our slide was ripped right off the slide platform.

And then one side of our fence was pretty much blown off.  No need to use the gate anymore!

Looks like Grandma and I have some repair work to do!