Unique

I don’t know how this started exactly but Aiden has taken to wearing two different shoes. It’s not always a red and blue crocs, sometimes it’s a tennis shoe and a red croc. Or a blue Dino shoe and a blue croc. I’ve tried to get him to wear two of the same shoes, mostly because I am worried about his balance and such if the two shoes have different wear but in the end it’s not a battle that is worth fighting. It’s just another reminder of how unique he is. It’s also easier to find his shoes at Little Gym when we are leaving :)

Aiden goes to school

Aiden's school does a staggered start for Kindergarten. 1/3 of the kids started Monday, 1/3 Tuesday, and 1/3 on Wednesday. Then they all went on Thursday. Aiden's start day was Tuesday and I went with him to fill out the stacks of paperwork while he was in class. Then on Thursday he rode the bus to school!

Here he is on Tuesday before we left for school.

After school he posed for me in front of the Kindergarten sign. He had a wonderful first day. I was able to leave the room with just a kiss and a hug without any tears. When I picked him up he was super excited to go sit in the big yellow bus before we went to lunch. After sitting on the bus he said "I don't want you to come to school with me next time, I can do it on my own." That statement made me SO proud and happy!

Here we are at McDonald's for a celebratory lunch.

And this is Thursday. His first day on the bus. He just walked right on and sat down like he had been doing it for years.

There he is in the first seat. Yea Aiden! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

First Day of School

Zach went back to school today. Aiden starts tomorrow but doesn't ride the bus until Thursday.

Zach is in Mrs. Walker's class and started the year off with three pages of homework and 20 minutes of reading all due tomorrow. He is ready and NEEDED to go back, I'm so happy that he will be challenged and have to step outside his comfort zone.

We are off to a bit of a rocky start at home though, with both boys having to go to bed early. I'm hoping that it will take us very little time to get back into the swing of things.

My big 8 year old 3rd grader refusing to smile for me on his first day of school.

July recap

Here is a recap of July, in no particular order. Zach's birthday pictures are still on my camera, I'll post them later.

For the first time Zach went away for a whole week to a Christian camp (Springhill). It was 2 1/2 hours away. It was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye. Here we are in front of his tee-pee.

I love this picture. It just describes so well where he is right now. On one hand he is old enough to be going away for a week "on his own" but on the other hand he's still young enough to want to hold my hand.
Here he is on the last day with his two councilors. They were wonderful and he had an awesome time. He really wants to go back next year but I told him we would have to see. He did the zip line and the "gusher" (a waterslide), he learned lessons from the bible, ate s'mores and had campfires every night. He learned campfire songs, went to a concert-even had his hand signed by the lead singer :) I missed him greatly and was surprised by how grown up he seemed when I picked him up. He was so much more respectful and responsible. (It has sense gone downhill :)
While Zach was gone I redid the boys rooms. For Aiden I painted his white bed red, made a cover with "rock star" fabric, made a poster that said "You are a Rock Star" and hung his Venus Fly trap posters.
For Zach- He got a new desk and chair from IKEA and shelves.
I also rehung all of the posters he ripped down a few months ago in a fit of rage.
I painted his bed black, got a cover from IKEA and painted some old shelves we had black for an endtable for him.
At the beginning of the month the boys went to my parents for a week. Chris worked a few of those days but he also took some time off so we could go to Columbus for a nice relaxing time away. This is the garden out back of the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at.
For awhile I sat outside with Chris and read by the outdoor fireplace. It was a wonderful getaway and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Here is Aiden with his Venus Flytrap that he got at Christmas. We transferred it from a small pot to a bigger pot and it's living outside for the summer.
Here is Zach with some of his Bakugan. This is one phase of boyhood I don't really understand along with Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon.

June Recap

I'm still here. Sorry I've been such a bad blogger. I'll try to do better :) Here's a recap of June in no particular order.

In Chicago we met Santa at Bob Chin's Crab House, I guess Santa likes crab legs too.
View from our hotel window.
Zach went to Camp Campbell Guard (M-W 9-5 and spent the night Thursday). He loved it and come home a happy boy.
We had some cool nights so we enjoyed S'mores a lot!
Took the boys to see a Mad Science Show at the Fairfield Community Arts Building. All of us were riveted, it was lots of fun with fire and exploding things, right up my boys alley.
An early birthday party for Zach at Red Robin with Nana and Papa.
Mr. Stubbs, a foster, we had him for about a month. He was an ornery dog. A chewer, barker, pee-er. We wish him well with his new family :)
Zach "graduated" 2nd grade. I can't believe that I have a 3rd grader!

Wednesday

Still trying to catch up on all the pictures that have piled up.....Meet Wednesday. Chris went away for two straight weeks the end of April so we didn't have any fosters at that time (hard enough to manage the two boys and our 2 dogs!) Wednesday is the first foster we had when he returned (picked her up a mere 14 hours after Chris arrived home :) She only stayed with us a week, she now lives on a farm with her doggie sister Phoebe. I'm sure she's happy.

before and after

Before......

......and after

Izzy went in for a haircut the end of April and came out shaved.....she is happy to not have so much fur, to be a little cooler at least.

Park

During Easter weekend we took the dogs to a park near my parents and went on a walk on one of the walking paths. All along the path there are sculptures and Zach felt the need to pose by each one. Aiden on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the camera and we had to sneak to take any pictures of him.

Easter

We celebrated Easter with my parents in Illinois. We had an egg hunt in the morning, went to a park in the afternoon (pictures to come later), and a yummy dinner that night. It was a very delightful weekend.

Still alive

We are still alive here in the Palmer household, just been very busy. Here are some pictures I have missed putting up over the last 6 weeks or so.  I'll start today with "Spring"

Chris and I have spent, and will spend a lot of time in these two chairs watching the boys play.

Aiden with a bloom from our tree.
Zach running away from the camera.
Sweet boy.
Our first flowers of the season.