The First Day of School

It's finally here- Max's first day of 1st grade was today. His principal, Bill Salonen, always goes all out for the first day. This year's theme is "Saddle Up for Success", so they had real horses on the front lawn and a plastic cow to practice roping. The entire staff was decked out in western wear, and two news crews rounded out the circus. It was crazy and really, really fun!

Max's teacher this year is Mrs. Rask, and I've yet to meet her. Darreck met her at supply drop on Monday and had a very mixed opinion. So far, however, Max likes her, and I guess that's what matters. We'll see as the year goes on. His room is A3, but right now they're sort of homeless as their room is being painted. You'd think they'd get all that stuff out of the way during the summer.

The real adventure came after school. Everyone went into full-on meltdown mode after school today. From the moment Max stepped in the door at 3:00 until Darreck got home at 5:30, someone was crying almost the entire time. It was chaos. I considered selling the kids on the black market. It was bad. I'm really hoping that either the rest of the week goes better or that someone offers me a fair price for the kids. Seriously, I'm cool either way.

Last Summer Update

School starts tomorrow, so even though Darreck's been back at work for a week, these few days feel like summer's last stand. And of course, we're doing it up right! After celebrating Darreck's birthday Friday, we attended the wedding of my high school friend Brianna on Saturday. It was our first Catholic Mass, which was fascinating in it's own way. We had a great time! Sunday was exciting for our family- dad was called into the stake presidency. Apparently, they didn't want him to have too much leisure time now that he's down to only one job. Or something like that...

I've had a raging head cold all week, but I wasn't willing to miss out on family fun the last few days of summer. Cold and all, I convinced the family to hike the Sluice Boxes yesterday, and it was beautiful! I feel so grateful that such beauty exists a mere 30 minutes from my house. However, the boys did not appreciate the freezing creek, which bisects the trail numerous times. Darreck and I had to carry the kids across the creek, and it was so, so cold! At least the scenery is worth it.

Today we've been in full back to school mode. We got Max's hair cut, spent a ridiculous amount of money on new shoes (he's super picky), and bought some new clothes. I have a feeling tomorrow morning is going to feel very early, and I think it's well worth our time to prepare today.

Here are the pictures summing up our fun the past few weeks~

We went out to Ryan Dam last week for a morning. It was beautiful and we had the whole place to ourselves. The boys practice their bouldering, and Luke had a close encounter with a bull snake.

 One of Darreck's favorite spots in town is Wadsworth Pond. We took dinner out there, but didn't plan on swimming. Darreck dragged us back the next day with our swimsuits so that we could do some serious playing. It was really fun until the clouds rolled in.

 Darreck's back to school potluck was held at Oddfellow's park this year, which is one of my favorite spots in the city, speaking of favorites. They put  in a new playground that the boys loved, and it has one of my favorite river beaches in the area.

 Darreck got wireless headphones for his birthday, and Jack promptly stole them. He walked around the house all morning listening to Coldplay, and he screamed each time someone tried to take them away.

Finally, these are the pictures from our hike yesterday morning. The pictures don't do it justice, and they also don't show the smoke. We're praying for rain. Much of northern Idaho and eastern Washington and Oregon are on fire. Hopefully our little corner of paradise is protected.

Darreck's Birthday

We're at the tail end of Darreck's 30th birthday blowout week! We believe in going big for birthdays, especially the milestones. This year I thoroughly embarrassed him by throwing him a pool party at Water Tower Pool. We pretty  much invited everyone we know, and had a good turn out, in spite of the weather not cooperating. It was cold and windy, especially as the night wore on, but everyone still had a blast. The kids got really into in, no one more than Max. After his last round of swimming lessons, he's decided he loves the pool, and we were so impressed with his willingness to go out and play with his friends. Luke, on the other hand, was much more reluctant. He's not so into the whole swimming thing this year. The pool party was also Jack's first time in a pool, and he was a little rockstar! He stayed in until he was shivering so hard we forced him to get out. He was not amused. All in all, it was a great night.

The fun continued Tuesday night with Darreck's family. We had a little birthday party for Bryan and Darreck, complete with cake and singing, although the kids missed it because they were too busy playing. Friday, Darreck's actual birthday, he spent most of the day working. Boo! However, we squeezed in dinner with my family at Pizza Hut and the traditional donuts. The major excitement, however, was that we got a new TV for the basement. Darreck and I watched one of the movies he got for his birthday, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, on our newly acquired big screen. It was pretty cool!

Darreck and I figured out that this is the eleventh birthday of his that we've celebrated together. Man, time flies! The first birthday we spent together was his 20th, and we had a picnic at Ryan Dam. This year's festivities were much louder and more chaotic thanks to the kids, but it was fun to reminisce on how far we've come. Over the past decade, we've lived in two towns, six homes, had three kids, and gone through I don't even know how many cars. I'm looking forward to some stability in the next decade, but I suppose nothing is ever guaranteed. At least we know we can get through it together!

Luke's 3rd Birthday Pictures

I try to take pictures of the boys on their birthdays, but sometimes it's hard to work up the motivation, especially when they've hit that stage where they won't look at you or smile naturally. My friends, Luke is in that stage. Taking pictures of the kid is a little like running a marathon. I walked away tonight feeling completely worn out- and here's the kicker- even though we only spent about 15 minutes. Sheesh!

 In Luke's defense, I don't much like sitting around and having my picture taken either. I suppose I can't really blame the kid. He'd much rather be riding his bike or playing with his swords or tormenting his brothers. I get it. I like tormenting Max from time to time, too. Still, we got some good shots, and I'm glad I took the time to preserve all his unique little cuteness right now. 

Another Major Summer Update

So, if we're still counting in weeks, this is like summer weeks 4-10. Yeah. I know. It's been super busy, but I still want to get these pictures up here for the posterity and record the stories. Here it goes. Hold on tight!

 We've been doing a lot of walking and playing tennis lately. Summers in our house are very athletic, not that I'm apologizing for that. This picture was the Hale family version of Family Home Evening. We took the boys out for a walk to the dam, and even though we've been there a few times already this summer, the falls on this particular day were really impressive. We got a lot of rain throughout July, and the river has been pretty spectacular.

 Yet another hike, this time a little further up the river. This walk to Crooked Falls is one of my favorites. In fact, I've come to think of this little section of the river as my own personal "happy place". It's fun to share it with the boys.

 We braved our first movie as a family! The theater is running a Thursday morning special where we can get everyone in and fed for $16- too good a deal to pass up! We went and saw The Croods, an older release we watched with friends last year. Luke wiggled the whole time and Jack slept through most of it, but Max had a blast. It was a fun memory making experience.

 Kayla turned 16 on July 9th, complete with cupcakes and singing. She'll be a junior in high school this coming fall, and she's working at the baseball games this summer. She's also incredibly busy with golf, band, and debate team. For her sweet 16, mom took her and two friends to Salt Lake for a concert.

 Speaking of Kayla, we brought her along on our trek up Belt Creek. The water was freezing, but it was so hot outside that no one cared much. Luke didn't have the greatest time; it's still hard for his little legs, but he was a trooper. Max is getting really good at hiking, and Jack got to ride along- lucky bum.

 Max continued his summer of camps with art camp in the middle of July. I wasn't super impressed with the adult leaders, but he had a blast. I suppose that's what matters. This painting was done with acrylics over the course of a few days. He LOVES doing art, and I'm hoping to get him into art classes at Paris Gibson square this year.

 Jack got a pool for his birthday from my parents, mostly because babies don't really care what they get. So far, Max has been pretty much the only one to use it. Go figure.

 Jack is walking. Sort of. Kind of. Maybe. He's taking some tentative steps, and at the time I took this picture, I was sure he'd be cruising around the house in a few days. However, it didn't quite work out that way. He'll go short distances, and each day he gets a little braver, but he's still very content to take things slowly. It's like he's figured out that crawling works, so why rock the boat.

 Are we sensing a theme yet? I kept Max very busy this summer, if for no other reason than to keep him out of my hair during nap time. Hey, little boys have to sleep undisturbed sometimes! We enrolled Max in city swim lessons instead of at the health club, and it made a HUGE difference. He's actually swimming across the pool without a flotation device! I'm so proud of him for getting brave. As a reward, they held his last day of lessons at the water park, which he's been talking about non-stop every since.

 And, in other Max news, he lost his first tooth. Ewww! Gross! I hate teeth. They are so disgusting.

 Not much to say here. Skipping rocks at the end of Black Eagle Island. Not a bad way to pass a morning.

Last, but certainly not least, we took our annual day trip to Choteau this weekend. Every year we go play at the park that Grandpa Jack loved so much, get lunch at the Log Cabin Cafe, then eat ice cream and check out the dinosaurs at the museum. It's such a small and simple thing, but it's one of our favorite summer traditions. Gotta love it.