Tennis!

First tennis lesson!

To say she loved it is an understatement. We've been home 5 minutes and she's begging to go outside and hit balls in the driveway :-)

She has a great back-hand, and just today she made tons of progress in terms of going from a crazy, fast, wild swing to an easy and controlled swing. 

It's been about a year and half since she has wanted to take a lesson of any kind, so I'm excited to see her trying something new - and having fun doing it!

Character award

On Fridays, the principal announces birthdays and gives out some awards during the morning announcements. They talk about different character traits every week. Savamnah was chosen for the character award this week because she demonstrated alertness throughout the week. Go savannah!

Lunch!

I had a lunch date at school with my munchkins yesterday. First gage at 11:10...and then savannah at 11:30. 

Vocabulary

So, one of Savannah's vocabulary words this week is "bulky" (along with opinionated, deny, and consider. I think she understands that bulky refers to ;-)

Tooth #3

I have been nagging savannah to wiggle her loose bottom tooth because her grown up tooth is growing in right behind it!! That, by the way, is called "a shark's tooth" , and their grown up teeth usually just shift into the correct position after the  baby tooth falls out.

Well...after school she was wiggling like I told her to...and she pulled her tooth out. That's a big step for her - after daddy pulled the first one out, she swore she was just going to let the rest fall out by themselves and not let anyone pull her teeth - ever. 

So, here's snaggletooth savannah, minus a tooth. 

Bus stop giggles

Here we are...just being silly at the bus stop!

So, these two sit together on the bus every day. Their bus driver Mr. Tom, assigns them seats, and he gave them "the good seats" - 2 back from Mr. Tom. 

You know, last year when I put savannah on the bus, I had to wait until she got settled into her seat and she wouId turn back, look out the window, and wave at me and blow kisses until the bus was out of sight. 

This year...they just get on together and never look back at me.  Just one more little but slightly heartbreaking piece of watching them grow up. At least I still get hugs and kisses before they climb the bus steps! We'll see hiw long that lasts!

 :-) 

A bug :-(

I knew it...on Friday night he was up all night. Restless. Couldn't "get comfy", etc. He came to bed with me but was tossing and turning. At 3am I found him laying on the couch in the living room. He just wasn't himself. That morning he was a whiney cranky monster. And then he made a few gagging noises but said he was fine. Well...he ended up with the stomach bug, which is going around. For a bit that never naps anymore unless we happen to be in the car when he's tired... a 2 hour fitful nap is definitely a sign that he's not feeling well. But, with Mr. Cuddlepants (what a name for a Spider-Man bear!) by his side, he made it through and was ready to go back to school on Monday and is feeling all better now :-)

The thinker

Don't ask why..but Adam has a pair of "fake" glasses. So, Miss Smartypants was trying to look like a serious thinker the other day!

School bus

On the first day of school, I drove the kids. But....today was Gage's first school bus ride. He didn't seem the least bit nervous - probably because he has been greeting his bus driver Mr. Tom twice a day for 2 years. And...his sister is being very protective of him...so I'm sure she's showing him the ropes.

First day of school

We made it back to AL just in time to start school. 

Gage's teacher is named Ms. Rhodes, and he had a great first day.

Here he is getting settled into his seat.

Savannah has Mrs. Fowler, who she seems to adore. 

She only has one kid in her class that she knows, and I can't believe who it is. Every day after school I ask her silly questions to prompt her to tell me about her day. Did anyone poop their pants? Did anyone eat a booger? Etc. Surprisingly the answer to these was usually yes. There was a boy named Austin in her class last year that threw up constantly. Yep...the only classmate she knows is the piker. But? He apparently has a great sense of humor, so she's excited he's in her class again.

They both had great first days!

Happy birthday Gage!

Getting ready for Gage's party! What a cool iron man pinata!

After dinner and pre-pinata...we walked out to the cows with all a few cousins.

This was a pull string pinata - no wacking involved ;-)

Pinata loot!

He made out like a bandit. Now...I have to go ship all these toys home. We have accumulated lots if goodies that will not fit in our suitcase!!!

Just strolling

Lost river

We spent a day at he Lost River Gorge in NH. We saw big rocks left behind by the icebergs...

This cool wolf rock 

Savannah loved all of the caves

Gage did not

Paradise falls

Who wants to go gem mining?

Gage chose fossils...savannah chose gems

It is just so gorgeous there...

Santas village

We took a day to go to santas village while in NH. What a fun place - we really want to hack when it's winter!!

A reindeer merry go round!!

Giant snowman!

Gage was actually tall enough for the bumper cars...and he was very very happy about that. We were behind daddy and savannah...we so got to do most of the "bumping"

Adam spun gage so much on the little drummer boy ride that he almost made himself sick ;-)

I haven't ridden a Ferris wheel in ages..

But the view was spectacular!

The most fun was feeding reindeer!

Their antlers were so velvety soft :-)

And they nibbled carrots very sweetly

Gage wanted to know what the red tags on their ears were - I told him it was a little phone so Santa could talk to them and say "attention all reindeer, I need pranced to report to the training field for flying practice". He totally bought it ;-)

They got to see Santa

Campfires

The fires rarely went out. Morning until night...the fire was blazing.

Gage made what we call "smokers" - you put the tip of a stick into the fire, stub it out, and let it smolder. You also remind them constantly not to point it near anyone ;-)

They love watching the smoke curl around.

This is G, S, and Jack (5) - who gage loves to play with.

They stayed up LATE for the fire but crashes when they hit the pillow :-)