Jogathon 2012

The elementary school that my kids attend only does one main fundraiser each year. They hold a jogathon. I feel like i have been going to jogathons for years now...well, i guess i kinda have!

 The above picture cracks me up. Raegan is most likely the youngest in the class and she has a couple of girls that really "mother" her of at least did in the past. I think she is getting a little more confident in this kindergarten thing these days so it maybe doesn't happen quite as much but it was sweet!

 Raegan ran her little heart out and bracelets/lap counters!

 She wanted mommy out there running with her so i joined her for a lot of it.

 She is on Spirit squad that they have for all the girls this year. They practice on Wednesday afternoon and then have multiple performances throughout the year. She loves it! They performed at Jogathon. It was pretty darn cute. I was going to try to video the little dance but my camera was being hunted down during it.

 After pre-k and kindergarten went it was first grades turn to take the field.

 Ethan ran hard the whole time. He is quite the little go getter when it comes to running...cracks me up!

 He had lot's of band to show for his running!

 Good job Ethan and Raegan on another year of jogathon!

Beautiful Colorado

John and i and my sister Susan and brother in law Greg took a little trip to LaVeta, Colorado over Labor Day. I grew up going up to this cabin at various times so have great memories of the area.

We hiked to the meadow as soon as we got their and got settled in. The last time i hiked to the meadow i was 8 months pregnant with Raegan so this time it was a bit easier!

This is the tree that my parents have carved on for years...you can see a lot of years there! 

 Back in 1994 we came on a family vacation here and it just so happened that John and i got engaged on that vacation, so we started our own tree. We have been back at different times (but separately) so we have gotten all of the kids initials on it over the years.

 John went to work re-carving the kids initials because they were hard to read

 i just love the Aspen trees!

 this was the finished tree

 we visited one of our favorite spots the Dog Bar and Grill in Cuchara

 We spent one day mountain climbing. The West Peak was our destination. The last time i climbed this mountain was in high school and we got caught in a really bad storm and there was lightning all around us and hail...i remember trying to get down that mountain so fast and thinking the faster i get down the less likely i get struck...all of that to say i was a little nervous and hoping for no storms!!

 At the tree line we caught up with another group so we took pictures for each other so that we could get the whole group in a picture. 

 after tree line the real work began! the air got much thinner and the climb got tougher! We did find a trail (painted markings on rocks) to follow which was much better and we were able to keep our footing as opposed to where we Were climbing causing a rockslide every step we took!

 and still climbing...

 my younger sis and i

 at the top of the mountain they have a list in a bag where you can write your name and where you are from

 on top of the world at 13,626 feet...it did sleet on us just a little bit while we were up there but no storms!!

 We were a bit worn out by the time we got back down...

 The next day my sister and i had plans to get in an 8 mile run and run to town from the cabin...that is until on the way back to the cabin that night this furry little guy walked across the road! It was on, we were suddenly stalking this bear...

 We watched him run across a huge field and let me tell you this guy was moving!! We cut him off around the corner and got some great pictures of him. No more running to town for us girls!! The thought of playing dead to that big guy was less than appealing and my gut instincts of running or climbing a tree to get away probably wouldn't work either!

One thing we did that i have no pictures of was White water rafting down the Arkansas River. I was terrified! After making it most of the way our guide asked how adventurous we were feeling. Long story short he dumped us all out of the boat after one of the falls!! (on purpose) It was adventurous for sure. We floated under the Royal Gorge which was absolutely beautiful!! Such a fun time!! Even though i was extremely nervous i am so glad that we did it!

 So, in 1994 back to the family vacation John asked me to marry him down by the stream. We went and found the spot and re-enacted the proposal

 This is the cabin where we stayed. We were told there may be a bat in the cabin, someone had seen one but thank God we never saw one! I don't think my sister and i would have handled that very well!

 We laughed a lot on this trip! 

 The last time we walked together down this road back to the cabin i had just said yes...here we are 17 years, 4kids later...so much life has happened. It was fun to walk down memory lane!

Raegan turns 5

Raegan had a fun morning before school on her birthday. Grandma Seaba came over to see her and brought her a cute dress and sweat shirt. The girl loves cute clothes so this of course made her day!

 Then after school Grandpa and Grandma Neir came through town and stopped with her present...you can see the excitement on her face...

 when she opened her "just like me" American Girl doll!

 We then rushed off to Chuckee Cheese...just like last year we had a back to school night to get to so went early and had the place mostly to ourselves

 I think my older ones have just as much fun there as my younger ones

 Chuckee came out to visit the birthday girl

 "take the picture mommy!"

 Happy 5th birthday to our sweetie!

 Chuckee was lovin on the 13 year old too

 another Barbie because we certainly don't have enough of those...

 Mommy and Avery played a game that just kept shooting out 45 tickets at a time...it may or may not have been stuck and i may or may not have kept playing it until the kids had a ton of tickets...or the machine ran out of tickets...yep that's what happened first.

 and then i tucked in a very tired little five year old... Happy Birthday Raegan we love you so much and can't believe you are already 5 years old. You are such a sweet little girl!

Another school year

Our lazy summer is over and it is back to school time...well two weeks ago it was but i am just getting around to blogging about it because like i said it was a lazy summer and i was lazy about blogging too!

This first picture is the first day that all four went back. Avery and Ethan went back for a half day first and then the next day they all went.

 The first day was a little rough for some to wake up. It hasn't gotten much easier since then for Ethan to open his eyes while he eats his cereal. He still eats his first bowl with them shut half the time but by his second helping he more wide awake!

 Ethan's first day of 1st grade!

 Avery's first day of 6the grade, first day of middle school!

 I do not have a picture of Trey beside with all 4 on his first day of 8th grade because when i realized i didn't have one, he wasn't the most cooperative...teenagers, i tell ya!

Raegan's first day of kindergarten. She goes half day and goes in the afternoon. She was so excited to go to school. She is a young kindergartner as she just turned 5 a week after school started.

 We borrowed one of her friends posters before school

 and then it was time to line up to go inside...

 She found her desk right away and then just sat there. She finally got some crayons out and started coloring her paper that was on her desk

 I didn't know if i would cry as i left my youngest at school but i did not. It might have been partially due to the fact i was chatting with other moms or partially due to having to hurry off to go get new tires on the van. I did have a little wave of sadness that my years of always having one home with me all day were over!

 Raegan has the same teacher that Ethan had last year.

They are all off to a good start. Avery has her locker down pat and besides getting lost every now and again has her classes down. Trey is enjoying being the oldest class at school, the top dogs. Ethan is adjusting to school lunches and figuring out what he likes and what he doesn't. Raegan seems to be making friends quickly and talks about one in particular a lot...her name is Avery...must make her feel at home :)

I have found plenty to do with my 3 hrs per day sans kids. The second day i went shopping and went and ate at Chipolte...it was a very relaxing afternoon! As the temps get cooler i am planning to get some of my running done after i drop Raegan off at school which will help free up some of my evenings.

It's gonna be a great year!