The Broken Nose

We celebrated Tylers 6th grade graduation with a broken nose. Well, actually, the celebration started before the break. He invited a good friend, Mitch, to celebrate with us, and it was a perfect night for pitching a baseball. Good throw, bad catch. Tyler ended up with a double size nose, Mitch felt terrible, and we are going through ice in this house like crazy this weekend. The good news, Tyler is now an official 7th grader, Mitchell is still his friend, and school is out for the summer!

Nicole is going into 6th grade now. Tyler will have his first year in the Jr. High, while Nicole will be enjoying her last year at the elementary. She's at the "top of the food chain" now, and has hit the girl drama phase. Never a dull moment in Nic's life. She hopes to spend alot of time drawing and crafting this summer.

Nelly - going into 5th grade, ready for playing all summer long. She gets more freckles as the sun comes out, and she just got an adorable haircut that accents her petite face better than the long bob cut did. She is a girl that truly just "wants to have fun."

Tara sailed through kindergarten. Yay! She is learning to read, and is enjoying putting words together on her own now. She drew a cute picture of baby Bella, and sounded out her name. It's a keeper for the scrapbooks. She has seen the "Up" movie twice, and could own it. She still surrounds herself with stuffed dogs, most of which are named "Hunter." She will spend next year in first grade, the first all day of school. That will be interesting!! She loved riding the bus back and forth to school the last 2 weeks, and came home starving at 12:15 every day.

Mere scored second highest in her preschool class for kindergarten readiness. All year was a struggle, she cried alot, and hated leaving home. Go figure. She threw so many fits that the teacher (wonderful lady) let her fall asleep on more than one occasion, and the naps always helped. Mere is totally sleep deprived, and if she ever learns to sleep in her own bed we will celebrate. She already dreads kingergarten, but hopefully she will learn to write her name before school starts. She and Tom will be in the same classroom again, and if they get the teacher I asked for, she will love the humor and fun.

Tom found a social life in preschool. Prior to school, his only experience with kids, other than siblings, was mostly in sunday school. Wow, did he love it. He draws pictures of his friends, and loves writing their names above it. He is constantly wanting to play with his buddy next door, and would rather be outside playing than eating or anything else. He hates taking a bath, but once he's in there, we can't get him out!

Bella. What a treat. Is there any age better than 2? She says a new word everyday, and keeps us in belly grabbing laughter. Just now she came from a quiet gathering upstairs, and has her entire face covered in halloween makeup. Gorgeous. She carries several fleece mini-blankets with pacifiers attached, and for her, the more the merrier. I know at her age I should be breaking the paci habit, but when she's the baby, and she pleadingly says, "please?", how can we resist. My mom keeps it in perspective. She's never been to a wedding where the bride had a paci in her mouth. I am not going to worry about it for a while yet. Maybe potty training will get done first.

We are looking forward to a busy, fun summer. Camping trips planned, visits with grandkids on the horizon, and late night marshmallow roasts on the back deck. Stay tuned for more....