First Day of School!

**Disclaimer - the next few posts will recount our first few weeks/months in Jerome. We were living in a hotel (which I'll write about at some point) but please note that every single picture in the hotel is going to look cluttered, messy, and crowded. That's because it was.**

Less than a week after arriving in Jerome, the kids started school! It was a little hectic because we were still living in the hotel but they were more than ready and excited to begin a new adventure. I am going to detour here and say that my kids have been incredible throughout this move. They have been so positive and optimistic about all the changes. Their attitudes made things easier on me for sure. These kids of mine, I tell you, they're the best.

But, back to the first day of school!
 

The night before school started we had our traditional "first outfit of the school year" fashion show.

I love Clayton's outfit (I'd seriously wear it if it was in my size)!

This is not Sammie's first outfit of school. She actually started the day after all the other kids, but she wanted to try on new clothes too. She's pretty cute.

Since there was no bus to ride, and we weren't in our home, our first day of school morning was a little different than usual. Breakfast from the hotel breakfast bar, everyone getting ready in the same room, loading everyone in the car to drop them off. It was a little hectic, but considering all the problems we've had with the bus over the past few years, I'm more than happy to drive them (we'll see if I still feel that way in a few years - but for now I don't mind it one bit).

They do school a little different out here. There are two K-3 elementary schools, 1 4th-5th grade school, 1 middle school (6-8), and then high school. So Clayton goes to a different school than Noah and Josie. I think there are pros and cons to this. They stagger their start times, which is nice (Clayton starts about 15 minutes earlier than Noah and Jo so drop off isn't a problem), but it'd be nice to only have to go to one school to see all my kids. I'm pretty happy with both of the schools though, so I can't really complain.
 

First day of school! Noah: 2nd grade, Clayton: 5th grade, Josie: kindergarten
Pretty stylish group, if you ask me! (And yes, that's a potty chair on the floor of my van. That's how I roll with a newly potty trained kid. Judge if you must, I ain't changin'!)

I can't believe this is Clayton's last year in elementary school. It seems like his grade school years just flew by! He has a great teacher this year though who lets me come into the classroom and help out once a week. It's nice being able to spend that time in Clayton's class since this is probably the last year I'll get that chance!
I wish this picture was better, but oh well.

Pootie started the second grade. As you can see, he started strong. He has a very loving teacher who is just the sweetest. He has taken that elementary school by storm and made a ton of friends. I predict he'll be running that place next year!

Josie started kindergarten! Crazy! I was worried about how she'd do academically (she wasn't quite as prepared as Clayton or Noah had been), but she's doing just fine. We struggle a bit with her teacher (she doesn't really let parents in the class to volunteer, which kills me because I want to be there for her) and she's had a few hard days, but we're working through it together and I'm hoping that we'll come out on the other side stronger for it.

Socially though, she's on fire! She makes friends left and right and is just so confident and sparkly! I love that she knows exactly who she is.

Noah and Josie go to the same school. I was interested to see how this would effect their relationship and I'm happy to report that I think they're closer for it! They have a lot of shared experiences that the rest of us don't and I think that's bonded them. They still fight a bit, but I'm slowly starting to see a more friendly relationship developing between these two! 

I thought it'd be fun to compare all my kindergartners:
Isn't Clayton the cutest and tiniest kindergartner you've ever seen! Oh my goodness! He's so adorable! I am having a hard time reconciling this sweet tiny face to the man-child that is currently living under my roof!

 Noah! Oh poor Pootie with his poor allergic reaction. Still though, he's changed so much!

Josie. Maybe it's because I'm remembering the boys smaller than they actually were (though Clayton was actually pretty young) or maybe it's the difference between boys and girls but she seems more grown up to me starting kindergarten than they did. I love her excited/nervous face here.

Josie only goes half day (she goes in the mornings). So after her first day, we got to celebrate with lunch at McDonalds with Justin (I adore his new schedule - things get so much better after residency!).

When everyone else got home, it was time for the traditional snack of cookies and milk while we discussed their first days. Everyone had a successful day!

The next day was Sammie's turn. I miss Woodard Preschool in South Bend, but we found her a pretty good little school. It's got a Christian based program so she learns a lot of Bible stories and a lot about Jesus. It's pretty cute. She was one excited little lady to go to school!

Again, I thought it'd be fun to compare her picture against all the other kids on their first day of preschool.
Cute little Clayton (those cheeks!):

 Oh Pootie (at the height of his pootie-ness):

 Gorgeous Jo:

Sammie goes to school from 8:30-12:30 three days a week. They feed her lunch and do a bunch of activities, so she's usually wiped when she gets home. She's adjusting better now, but she would crash so hard after school at first.

I was nervous about the time I'd have to fix Josie's hair every morning before school. I usually don't fix the boy's hair for school and I was afraid that we'd be late every day because of the time it'd take to fix her hair (because it is so, so long). But it hasn't been bad. We've discovered a few go to styles that we've made work for us (like this fancy braid that I'm so proud of).

Once the kids started school I felt a lot more settled here (even though we were still in the hotel). It gave us some routine and stability that I was desperately craving (and I think they were too). It's so weird to me that all of my kids go to school now. It's a whole new chapter in parenting. I'm starting to think about the next chapter of my life and it's like uncharted territory. Kind of scary, kind of sad, but kind of new and exciting too.

I love these kids and am so proud of how well they've adjusted to this new life. They jumped in head first and have really thrived in this new environment. Watching them out here makes me certain that this is the place for us. I can't wait to see how much they grow this year!

Three!

The day after we left Las Vegas was Sammie's third birthday. We had stopped in Ely to spend the night at my brother's house. It's super convenient that they happen to live almost exactly halfway between Vegas and Jerome, I love being able to stop and see them on our way to and from Vegas. Plus, driving 4 hours at a time with my kids is totally doable! Any more than that in one day is almost too much!

Sammie had been excited about her birthday since her party in Vegas. She'd been waking up every day for about a week telling us it was her "birt-day" so she was especially excited to find out that we were all as excited as she was on her actual birthday!

She has perfected the art of raising three fingers (though which three she chooses are different day to day).

We didn't let the fact that we were nomads stop us from some of our traditions!

Birthday shirt!

A birthday muffin with a candle in it!

It was sort of an anticlimactic day because we had to finish our drive to Jerome to meet Justin so there wasn't a whole lot of time for hoopla and celebration but we tried to make it as special as we could for our sweet birthday girl.

We'll rewind a bit:
As a baby, Sammie was the best. I am not exaggerating either. She self soothed and slept through the night almost right away. She was content most of the time, easy going, and loved snuggling (but wasn't fussy if she had to kick it on the floor or in the bouncy chair). We all loved this little doll!

At a year old, Sammie was still the best! She was fat, happy, and mostly immobile. She needed some physical therapy to help her learn to move around, but she was such a good sport about it. She ate everything, rarely cried, and loved to sit and watch the action around her!

At two years old, Sammie was still the best (are you noticing a theme?). She was sweet to everyone and would get so sad if someone seemed to he hurt or sad. She was slowly catching up with her gross motor skills but never seemed angry or frustrated with the extra effort it took her to try. She was quick with a kiss or a hug and adored watching and playing with her brothers and sister.

Now here we are. Three. For a three year old, I still think she's the best. She's starting to develop some of the dramatic traits that I associate with being a three-nager, but even those seem to be pretty mild compared to other children we've had (cough, cough, Noah, cough, cough, Josie). She is all caught up developmentally and we love to watch her run and play.
A few facts about Sammie at age 3:
-favorite show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
-favorite movie: Frozen
-favorite food: Mac 'n' Cheese, fruit snacks, and anything chocolate
-favorite animal: dog
-favorite activities: play with baby dolls (she loves to be the mama), sing, dance, ride her bike, play outside, go swimming, play hide and seek (our poor babysitters are forced to play this with her for hours), and listen to stories (Pigeon books by Mo Willems are her favorites)
-favorite things to wear: anything with sparkles or ruffles, dresses that twirl, and her dance outfits
-other interesting facts: she's shy. This is a new one for us because none of our other kids are shy at all. Sammie will warm up to new people pretty fast, but she's not one who will run up to new people and talk to them. She's a mama's girl. As my baby, I am 100% okay with this. I love how much she loves her mama (even when she's making me crazy with her physical closeness). She's endlessly sweet. She doesn't like it when other people are sad and she is quick to give a hug or say sorry when someone is upset (*usually, she's also starting to be more of a pesky 'little sister', but I think that's pretty normal). Everyone loves her. I have yet to talk to someone who doesn't tell me how sweet and wonderful this little girl is. She charms everyone and has since day one!

I love and hate how grown up this little girl is becoming. It's so fun to watch the girl she's becoming, so strong and sweet and kind, but it's also sad to be losing my baby. I'm still addicted to this little lady and I thank my Heavenly Father every day that she is in our lives. Happy (late) birthday Sammie! I love you so very much!

Rewind...Sammie's Birthday Party

Sammie had her third birthday right after we left Vegas. I knew that we probably wouldn't do anything big in Idaho for her birthday (mostly because we would be living in a hotel and partly because we didn't know anyone) so we decided to have a little family birthday party for her before we left Vegas.

Finding a theme for her party was super easy. At her request (or screaming demand), we'd been watching 'Frozen' at least once a day (sometimes three or four times in a row) so I knew a 'Frozen' party would be a winner.

I had looked on Pinterest for a few ideas (there were tons), but - to be quite honest - I think that really elaborately decorated and over the top parties for kids are a little ridiculous. I mean really, the kids don't care how "pretty" the party is (do they?). Anyway, if you are one of those moms, good for you - I just am not (maybe it's because I'm lazy). However, simple decorations and games aside, it was a good time and all the kids (and adults) loved it.

Our soon to be birthday girl. She's standing with Sven for our "feed Sven" beanbag toss game. I drew and colored Sven myself. Freehand. I am super proud of that.

What would a birthday party be without a piñata?

The party guests. Aside from our family, we had my sister's boys, the neighbor girls, and the kids of one of my mom's co-workers.

Ah, Sven.

We built snowmen out of marshmallows, pretzels, and candies. I think that more sugar was eaten than used to build with, but that's what happens at a party!

Feeding Sven.

Pizza!

Pinata time! All the kids got a couple of turns and, when it was still uncracked, we let the adults go at it. Pregnant Ashley punching it is one of my favorite shots of the day!

Presents! Sammie's cousins and friends were very generous.

The cake. I ordered it from a yummy local bakery called Freeds. To make a specialty 'Frozen' cake would have been really pricey, so I just had them do a basic cake, and then I bought little 'Frozen' figurines to stick on there. I thought it turned out perfectly (and, the cake was delish, seriously, I want another piece right now just looking at it).

Sammie takes candle blowing very seriously.

It was a fun party and a great way to celebrate our little girl (clearly we were all worn out afterward - notice that every single person in the background is on a device - including Max - ha!). She loved it and I loved seeing her love it. She is such a light and a blessing in our home. I love this baby (even if she's not really a baby anymore). Happy Birthday Sammie!

Catch up

I've been a bad blogger. In my defense, here's why:

Yup, our house is officially on the market. You wanna buy a house? I happen to know of a great one for sale...

Anyway, I'm using that as my excuse for not being the best blogger lately. Trying to keep this house show-ready at all times is requiring almost all my energy at the moment. BUT! Here are a few other things that have been going on:

 

We got our hardwood floors refinished. It's kind of a long story with a lot of frustration (most of it endured by my saintly mother), but it has a happy ending. My floors look gorgeous!

They were raw for a while though. It was a fun couple of days of me yelling things like "Take your shoes off!" and "Don't get water on the floor!" Fun times.

These boys. They're such good buddies. They have private jokes and made up words. I love their relationship.

Josie got her preschool "report card". Obviously, she's very awesome. We are so proud of our girl. I can't believe she'll be in kindergarten next year!

Just because. She's dang cute.

Josie was killing me with her 80's style and her sweet dance moves one morning.

When I go to bed with wet hair, I wake up looking like a member of an 80's hair band. It's totally understandable if you're jealous.

Sammie kills me with her two year old style. My favorite look is the one on the left. She prefers to pick out her own clothes these days though, and more often than not, we end up with a look like the one on the right (hood and all).

Umm, I can't really explain this. He's a weird kid.

This picture was taken toward the end of March. MARCH!! I tell you, spring is really slow in coming to the Midwest this year!

The only way to travel.

These two. I adore them.

Bed head. No pants. One sock. Sweeping the floor. 'Nuff said.

Noah is a gargoyle. Justin is way more tolerant of this than I would be.

Nutella face. Every day.

I'd vote for him...if I weren't concerned that he'd get power hungry.

A pleasant evening. Clayton making dinner (meatloaf), Noah and Josie building Legos TOGETHER, and Sammie all dressed up to watch Daniel Tiger.

He likes to sit on the heat vent to read. Kid after my own heart.

Most days, this girl is my shadow. Sometimes it's frustrating, but most of the time, I hope she never leaves. Love this little lady.

We've been reading the Percy Jackson series as a family. It's been really fun. I forgot that (years ago) the kids had given some of them to me for Mother's Day. I was so excited to see this written inside one of the books. "Happy Mother's Day 2010 Love Clayton and Noah". I love seeing their little kid handwriting!

Josie and her cute friend, Brady, having a playdate. They didn't really understand the rules of connect 4, but it didn't stop them from having a great time!

This is a typical scene when Justin gets home. These girls are such daddy's girls. It melts my heart.

My awesome sister in law has been helping me turn my blog into a book (read: she's doing it for me). Oh my goodness, it's the most awesome thing ever! We absolutely adore these books in our house!

Aurgh! Getting the house ready to go on the market was such a pain. We were trying to color match paint to do touch ups on our walls. It was a fiasco that led to many tears. Finally, Justin "biopsied" the walls so we could get the paint color matched. He's a genius, I tell you!

We also got several new appliances, which my handy husband installed (if the doctor thing doesn't work out, he's totally got other career options).

There have been other, more exciting things going on around here, but they deserve their own posts. So stay tuned, I've got our trip to Idaho (super exciting), St. Patrick's Day, and April Fool's Day coming up!