Catching Up

I have been without my computer for the last several days, so I haven't had the chance to update. I want to post about Blake's first day of school & pictures of the kids those days, but I first wanted to mention that Jay's grandfather died last week.

He passed away on Friday morning. We were so fortunate to spend some time with him Thursday night. He was able to hold Bailey's hand, tell him what a good handshake he had & hear him talk all about his day at school. He was also able to see Blake. Jay & I were able to sit with him, hold his hand & visit a little bit. JW was a wonderful man! He was so kind and a true family man. He and Madeline were married for 61 years! How often does that happen?! We have taken a lot of pictures over the past 3 years & this is one I really like. It's a picture of JW holding Bailey after he was born. We were not ready to lose him, but we are happy he is no longer suffering.

The boys have really enjoyed school! Bailey runs right in and is all smiles when I pick him up. Blake had his first day last Thursday & they said he did really well. They did ask me to send more food next time! What?! He is only there 5 hours! I feed him before we leave the house, they provide a snack and he had 2 jars of baby food & a 4 oz bottle! My kid is an eater!!!

The picture on the right is of Bailey's first day of school & the picture on the left is of Blake's first day. Aren't they cute?

Did you notice my blog got a much needed makeover? My friend, Theresa, recommended a friend of hers & I think she did an amazing job! Thanks, Amy! Her link is down on the right had side if you want to look at her website.

Conversations with a 3 year old

Mommy: Bailey, I really like your orange shirt. You're wearing your favorite color to school today. Look Bailey, I'm wearing your favorite color too.

Bailey: Mommy, your shirt is light orange and my favorite color is dark orange.

-Good thing his shirt was dark orange.

Today was Bailey's first day of school and he LOVED it! I tried to get a picture of him going into his classroom, but he was too fast. I snapped one anyway and sort of got a smile. I will post pics on Thursday after Blake's first day. He goes to music, spanish, chapel, recess twice, centers, reading, etc. This year, since he is in pre-k he doesn't take a nap. He was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D, when he got home, but didn't nap. We left for the gym at 5pm and we got home at 7pm. He fell asleep during dinner, after only eating about 2 bites. I let him sleep on the couch until 7:45 in case he woke up wanting to eat, but he was dead to the world. Even though he has gone MANY days this summer without a nap, I now know he will need one every Tues. and Thurs. when he gets home from school!

Success is Sweet

We did it! On Saturday, Jay, Eric, Colleen & myself rode in the Hotter n' Hell bike rally. We rode the 100K (62 miles). There were over 14,000 riders there. It was crazy! We all felt pretty good the entire time and had a riding time of 4 hours 41 minutes. Not bad for 3 first timers and 1 seasoned rider hanging back with us:). Our total time was 6 hours. There were so many people there that from the time the cannon went off signaling the start to the time our bikes crossed the start was 20 minutes! We stopped at several of the rest stops to re-fuel on snacks. At about mile 12 Colleen started having break problems so we stopped for mechanical support and got it fixed. We also stopped at the air force base and took pictures in front of the planes. 3 miles before the finish Jay got a flat tire. Luckily, he's an old pro at fixing those! We really had a great time! We had so much fun spending the day with the Nelson's and we might even shoot for the full 100 mile next year. We did pick a team name. Based on the name of the ride and what the 4 of us have been through the past year we named our team "To Hell and Back" We thought it was clever:). There was even a mention of Tattoos, but it was quickly ruled out :)

Another milestone is that Eric's Law goes into effect today requiring stricter penalties for drivers without insurance & a valid license who injure someone. We are very happy about the new law and very proud of Eric for representing himself, Jay & Mary at the hearings. Eric is a big reason this law was passed.

On a different note, my last post I promised pictures of Bailey at his gym class.