First Day of School - 8-26-08

My Pretty Pink Princess Samantha - 1st Day of Kindergarten.


Sam - making a Heart because she LOVES school so much!



Oh yeah - it's the first day of school.


I'm ready for Kindergarten Mom.

This year Samantha and Tucker are each in their own classroom. I decided to separate them to benefit them both. Samantha spends so much time mothering Tucker, that I decided that she needed freedom to become herself, and she is LOVING it. There is only one other girl in her class of 9, and they are getting along great. Sam is so independent, smart, eager, and thrives on following the rules. (She is so much like her older brother)


Tucker - 1st Day of Kindergarten


I'm ready to learn Mom!

Tucker has grown up SO MUCH over the summer. He is attending the same school with Hunter and Samantha, all day! In a typical classroom. He is doing wonderful. His class has 9 students in it and is participating in all areas. He has tested out at grade level with his "Typical" peers. His delays at this time are mostly fine motor (writing, cutting, tracing, and drawing), however with this being the 3rd Week of school, he has already begin cutting on the lines, tracing his letter worksheets, and assembling his art projects with little assistance. I am so PROUD of him. We have worked so hard on his writing thoughout the summer, and I am now seeing the benefits of it. He is writing is name with little or no assistance too! Being the smart boy that he is though, he is writing Tuck instead of Tucker. I think this is so funny and very smart.



School is Cool!

Off to class! Bye Mom.

Hunter is in 4th Grade this year. I can hardly believe how old and how big he is getting. I still remember taking him to preschool for the first time. I remember he wasn't embarassed to hug and kiss me before he left me. Now - we have to sneak it in in the parking lot before all his buddies see him. We are 2 weeks into school, and 4th Grade is proving to be a bit more challenging for him. Lots of homework too! Hunter has a male teacher, which he loves. He is a great teacher too! Very spiritual and instills great social behavior and manners in his students. He is also very strict and has high standards for all students. Hunter is up to my chin in height and only 9 years old. In a couple of years I might be looking up to him.

Update - 8/25/08

Hello to all our dear readers and regular checkers of this blog. So sorry to all for the long time between posts and for those of you who reminded me I hadn't updated in so long - thanks for pushing me to do it.

Summer has been very busy - and we have been loving and enjoying our wonderful weather here. School starts tomorrow - yeah (says Mom)!

The kids have grown up so much this summer, and they are tanned and healthy. We stayed sickness free the entire summer. This is a first. Praise God!

Hunter - This summer Hunter took guitar lessons. He only lasted a month, and does not want to pursue it anymore. Right now all he has on his mind is playing football, which starts on September 13th. He seemed to enjoy Guitar - but his teacher was always cancelling and rescheduling his lessons, so I think he found this more frustrating than fun. Maybe we can find another teacher this fall, but for now, he just wants to play sports. So, we are starting with Flag Football, and then he will play Basketball, and then Soccer. He also has grown so much, and matured a bit over the summer. He is excited to return to school.

Samantha - I feel like Samantha has grown a foot taller over the summer. She is still the tiny petite little thing, but much taller. Dancing and singing is her passion. She has become more independent - and will begin Kindergarten. She and Tucker will be separated this year - she is very excited about that.

Tucker - Wow - has he ever grown up. His language is amazing, talking and keeping up with the other kids. He loves his older brother and imitates ALL (some good, some not so good :o)) that Hunter does. He also - drumroll - has been out of diaper/pullups for 2 months now!!! Yes, we still have couple of accidents, but the majority of time he succeeds. He loves it and we bought Big Boy Underwear like Daddy and Hunter. This is a huge accomplishment for him. I am hoping when we go back to school he stays with it.

Mom and Dad - I have gone back to work, started in July. It has been a transition for all of us - me and the kids especially. But I am enjoying having an Adult outlet. Brad is still working very hard, and all the time! He is still loving being here and his job.

So, there is a quick update. Again, sorry for the delay. With the kids going back to school tomorrow, I will have more time to update more often. Love you all!

July 28 - Another Dance Performance

The Jerome County Fair was the Week of July 28th. Samantha was in the big parade to kick off the Fair, as well as performed at the fair. So sweet and so............cute. The parade route was 1 1/2 miles, and it was 95 degrees out. Once again, this little tiny girl walked the entire route. Also, she LOVED her parage costume.




That is Sam up in front of the girls.


Sam - front, far left.

Gabriella - July 08

Samantha wearing her "Gabriella" wig - that she LOVES! (Gabriella is from High School Musical) She puts this wig on, grabs her Microphone, and sings and dances all over the house. I think she looks beautiful.

Sunkissed Twins - July 4, 2008

I Love this Picture - taken after a day of swimming all day!

Swimming at Bass Lake

Tucker Swimming in Bass Lake. Like his little getup? He always asks for this ring, as holding his head up out of the water is difficult for him. But..........now at the end of the summer with so much swimming experience over the summer - the ring is no longer needed. He he actually loves not having it. He moves around and tries to swim with so much freedom.





Samantha at Bass Lake. She loves the water and could swim all day!




Hunter in the Blue Swim Shirt - fishing with some friends before a quick swim at Bass Lake. You can catch fish with every cast - and the bait of choice - Hotdogs!! They catch Bass and Blue Gill.



Bass Lake is down in the Snake River Canyon. It is for members of the Blue Lakes Country Club. No we are not members, but some friends of ours are - and they have been so kind to invite us many times with them this summer. Thank you "V" family. We have had so much fun at the Lake.

Dance performance at Dairy Days. 6/21/08

After the Parade Samantha had about a 2 hour break before she had to perform at the Dairy Days Carnival. She was such a trooper. It was so hot, and she was hungry and food lines were very long. But we found a Got Milk vendor and enjoyed Free Milk and String Cheese. Dad finally was able to get to the front of the line for Hot Dogs and Chips, and so after a little fuel she was ready. She did so well. She just joined this Dance Class 2 weeks ago, so she only has attended two classes prior to this performance.

Summer is officially here! 6/21/08

So Summer is officially here - and today was the hottest day yet. About 10 minutes after I took this picture it was 102.

Dairy Days Parade 6-21-02

This past weekend was Dairy Days in Wendell, ID. Wendell is a small town about 12 miles northwest of Jerome. Samantha and Hunter were both in the parade. Sam was with her Dance class called Dance Factory and Hunter rode on the Canyonside Christian School float. It was really fun to have the kids in the parade. A first for both of them. They loved it too!

Samantha waiting to go to the start of the parade.

Tucker and Dad waiting patiently for the parade to begin.

Here comes Hunter. (White shirt and Blue Hat)

Sam walking in the parade. She just saw me and is waving. The parade route was 1 mile and Samantha walked and danced the entire mile. She was so proud of herself, and we were too! I didn't expect her to walk the whole thing. It was 10:30 AM and already it was 80 degrees outside.

Way to go big girl!

Sam and Hunter Get Glasses - 6/7/09

Sam and Hunter sporting their new glasses.



Hunter had been complaining that he could not see the board in school, so we took him to the eye doctor, and sure enough, he wasn't. So he is now wearing glasses most of the time. While we were getting the glasses at Wal-mart for Hunter, the kind lady mentioned that they do free screening for kids for eye problems. She recommended that I get Sam and Tucker tested. I did not think anything of it, so I had them do it. Good thing - Samantha has a stigmatism in her right eye, and it was turning in, and she basically was not using her right eye. So, now, she is wearing glasses and will forever. She is a trooper about it, loves them, and wears them all the time. Tucker was tested and he also has a slight stigmatism in his right eye, but right now it is so mild that he doesn't need glasses, so we will just continually test him every 6 months to see if there are any changes.

We think Hunter is very handsome and smart looking, and Samantha is beautiful in their new eyewear. Of course Sam's glasses are pink, and this was a must for her. She was very grown up when picking them out, and Hunter was very set on getting a pair that represented a Sport of some sort. His nose pieces have #9 for Kasey Kahne, a Nascar driver. Both of them are very good about wearing their glasses, and Hunter comments all the time how much better he can see.

More "T" family visit photos

Sarah and "S" with Shoshone Falls in the background.

Sarah and Sam


Sam and "R" showing off their Tatoos.

Just a little preview of the activity in our house for a week. The kids had a wonderful time and so did Mom and Dad. In this video, the kids are performing for all their stuffed animals which are lined up on the fire place. Notice the nice Jazz pants Tucker is wearing. He loves to Dress Up with Big Sis. Watch little "t" as he starts removing all the animals, and the others get irritated. Tucker especially - as he says, "That's my stuff". So cute!

Visit from the T family 5/31-6/6

Our Great Friends from WA, The "T" family came for a visit. It was wonderful to have them here with us.

Tucker and "T" watching movie and eating popcorn. Tucker loves his friend "T".


Girlfriends! Sam and "R" Posing with their new nightgowns.


Our one and only warm day while they were here - The kids had a blast this day playing in the pool, eating Otter Pops, and hanging out, outside. The rest of the week we were house bound because it was to cold and windy to play outside.


Tucker and Uncle "K". Early morning reading time. By the expression on Tucker's face, I wonder what Uncle "K" just said. :o)

Summer Nights

Dad spent two weekends building this fire pit for us and we love it. We started off our Summer vacation with a fire, smores, and great family time. Can't get much better than this. Thanks Daddy! **If you click on this picture it will enlarge, and you will see that Tucker's marshmallow is on fire. Look at his expression. He thought it was very cool, and from this point on, it is all about catching them on fire and watching them burn. Probably not a good thing for him to be excited about, but if you could hear his shrieks of excitement and his Oooooooo's you can't help but let him burn them.

Hunter is off to 4th Grade

Hunter's last day of school was May 23rd. It is officially summer vacation - and it is also so hard to believe that he is going into the 4th Grade. He ended the year with Straight A's again, and his SAT scores were all in the Advanced Level for his grade level. Great Job Hunter - We are so proud of you! So now it is time to have fun, relax, and enjoy summer vacation. Now if only someone would tell the weather man that we are on SUMMER vacation, and not LATE WINTER vacation. :o)

Last day of Preschool. 5/15/08

Tucker loves to push "big Sister".




We start Kindergarten in the Fall and Mom can hardly believe we are old enough already to go to kindergarten. Below are a couple of pictures of our End of year Preschool Party. We got to go to a local city park and play all morning. Then we went on a wagon ride around downtown Jerome, ate lunch, and then send Goodbye to our teachers for the Summer.

Tucker and Samantha both received Excellent Progress Reports. And the greatest news ever is that a week prior I had to take Tucker to the Public School Kindergarten Program for an evaluation of where he is right now, and guess what - My awesome, great, wonderful little boy tested out right a grade level. Yes - that is right! He is "Normal". Wow - we are so proud of him. We are spending a lot of time working on his fine motor skills this summer - as writing is a difficult task for him - but he tries and tries. He likes to write is name, which is hardly legible to those who haven't seen him write it before, but you can make out the T - U - C, so we are on our way.

The unfortunate side of this great success for Tucker is that his "Within Normal Limits" rating makes it very difficult to qualify for services (i.e. Physical Therapy, OT, and Speech). So now I am working on a Packet (and yes I mean a Packet) of paperwork to try to get him qualified for services. I have been told to make him look way worse than he is developmentally, thinking about his worst day ever. Hard to do, because all I want to do is brag about how wonderful he is doing. Crazy system we have - We are told to do all possible to help our kids become independent and to help them excel, however, when they do, then we are told we don't need any other help. Why do they think they are doing so well....because of all the therapies. Hmm....!

Samantha has started reading and she is so proud. I am amazed how quickly she picks things up. She is going to be very quick and smart like her older brother. We are reading a series of books for the summer that are for preschool/beginner readers, there are 9 books to tackle, and in the 1st hour of reading them to Sam and Tucker, she read 2 of the books to me all by herself. She has learned her phone number, birthdate, and how to tie her shoes! I love her little mind and her imagination is amazing.

The bird eggs have hatched. 5/20/08

The eggs are hatching. We were so excited to see the little babies. Minutes before I took this picture there were two babies in the nest. Not sure what happened to the other one - but I ran inside to get my camera, came back out, and only one baby was there. One more egg to go.

Unfortunately, this is the morning of the big wind storm (below pics) and so the next day, we discovered that the Mama bird and baby abandoned her nest (and hopefully to take cover for her new babies). She still has not returned, and there is still one egg left to hatch, or not. Samantha will not let us do anything with the egg because she is convinced Mama Bird will return to retrieve her egg. We might have to help the Mama bird get her egg (if you know what I mean) so that we can put an end to this mystery. :o) And we never did see the 2nd baby again. This was a fun experience for the kids to watch and monitor the nest daily. We are now always searching for more nests around our house.

Wind/Sand Storm May 20, 2008

Here are some pictures of the Wind/Sand storm we had last week. Pretty amazing to watch - scary too! In the pictures you see the brown haze all around - this is not haze, clouds, etc., but actually dust and sand flying around. I had gone to get my hair done this night (about 1/2 before this came about). It was 83 degrees out, so I left my car windows cracked to help keep the car cool while I was inside. Bad idea and mistake. The inside of my car was covered with Sand and dirt. Never seen anything like this. And I am just getting the car cleaned out. Still dirt in all the little tiny places, but for the most part, it's cleaned. Now the kids remind me whenever it is windy to roll up my windows. If only I could be as smart as 5 year olds and a 9 year old. :0)

Mother's Day Pictures

Look at these Handsome Boys!

I am so Lucky to be a Mom!

The Twins and I

Me and my Princess.

Me and My Boys.