That's a whole lot of water

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to bring you a cute picture of Charlie. Yes, higher angles do make you look younger and thinner! 

Now to the flooding..I am not sure if it has made the national news but we have had major flooding in our area. Some of the small towns in our area were totally underwater. We received 8 inches of rain in 24 hours! Minnesota has seen this before..that is actually why we have a neighborhood pond. In reality it is three little ponds. One being about 30 feet wide, the next 40 feet and the biggest one about the size of a football field.  With all the rain though our drainage ponds filled up FAST. The water quickly licked at the yards of the houses that border the pond. I took Matthew down to see it and snap a few pictures after it had reseeded about 15 feet.   

That tall green stuff in the center and the red plants to the right are normally what line the banks.

Our little ponds had become one big pond for a brief moment in time. Matthew is standing on the trail that goes between them. Grandpa Bob will know this trail well. If you read my blog you might recognize  the sides of the trail(outlined by rippling water) as where I frequently get pictures of the boys fishing.

Matthew thought it was just too cool! He would have stayed and played all day. 

One last photo of him in his new "spy glasses" Totally cracks me up! He wears these 23/7(almost all the time) now! 

Coming soon: carving boats out of Balsa wood, Vortex in a bottle, and school!

a quick check in..

I always feel guilty when I don't blog for a while. I just like knowing that family has an in with our lives. When I don't blog for a while I worry that they miss us. So here is a quick update...

It has rained here for over 24 hours straight...not just rained..poured. At last count it was over 8" I think everyone is over it. Everyone but Matthew. I took him down to the pond..and I do mean "Pond" as in singular.. Our three ponds have become one big one. I will post pictures of Matthew playing in it soon. I feel like I need some sunshine...BAD!!!

Then I had to share this picture with you. Matthew purchased a set of spy glasses from his book order. He things they are the coolest things ever. This is him wearing them out front this morning..as he waited in the rain for his ride to school. 

FYI: It has rained so much here that the highway to the city is closed until further notice. Also, school is delayed two hours in the morning. Anyone ever heard of school being delayed over rain???

A new school year math problem...

What do you get when you add +1 smile at pick up...

+1 jumps into the car...

+1 new face

+1 buckle to be snapped...

+ 1 in need of help

+1 face in my Byron sign line up...

(one very cute face!)

+1 after school treat...

+1 to show the choices too

+1 clowning around

+1 more ice cream to buy...

+1 in the parade of ducklings!

you get one very cute little girl starting her journey toward being a big kid!

That's right! Gracie joined us today. She had her fist day of Kindergarten. She was so excited and happy to be with the big kids. She made me giggle every time I looked at her. She was just so happy to be there! Happy first day of school Gracie.  I am glad that I got to be a part of it. I hope your journey always feels as happy as today did.  

The Lesson

Mike has decided to take the camera to camp this year instead of his gun. Matthew is going for the first time this year too so I am super happy about the camera idea.  I have been working on giving him some lessons before he goes. We both learn and teach two totally different ways...so hopefully I can teach him something.  The other night we were working on low light situations(for inside the tent) and Mike snapped this one of Matthew. One of my all time favorites.  I think my husband may surpass me someday:-) 

After school pictures

I took the older kids to a butterfly garden after school for a few photos.  Next week Gracie joins our group and I will take a few more. I have to say that looking back and seeing how much they have grown is amazing.

okay.. I know you are wondering where my pictures of Matthew are.  He was not really wanting his picture taken. He kept giving me his tough guy face.

Can you say Minnesota white?

Carter....:-)

Third graders are really cool and tough...to cool for moms even.  

Be careful what you wish for....

Matthew left for his first day of Third grade this morning....I miss him.

These pictures are not the best. In typical Minnesota fashion school brought with it very cold and windy weather.  I was not only not quite awake...but not wanting to be outside.  I have big plans for a photo shoot after school so all is not lost. Lets just hope the weather changes.

Matthew and Hannah are in the same classroom again. 

Want to see other first days? Click here for 1st grade,  and here for second grade

The last big catch of summer

Mike took Matthew and Carter fishing today. 

Carter was sporting his new slick Green Bay coat. I think it is a new favorite.

Both Matt and Carter were catching things left and right. 

I missed Carter's big catch. Matt caught a big one shortly after.

He was pretty excited..as you can see by the look on his face.

I say Catfish...Matthew corrects me and says Bullhead. I think I am the only one who is not afraid of them.

Well...Matt is not too freaked out by them.

He measured in at 11 inches. 

Goodbye..sweet summer.. goodbye

School starts at 8 a.m. in the morning.

Three cheers for moms everywhere:-) 

Creating a monster...

last night before bed I came up with the brilliant idea to hook Matthew up with a texting account. I thought this way he could text us if he needed anything.  He and Mike spent over an hour texting back and forth and we could hear his giggles coming through the floor with each one. He even texted me a few times too...but dad was way more fun than me.

I guess it was way fun because guess what Mike and I got woke up to at 5:09 am this morning? Yep, a text asking how we were doing!  

Thankfully our texting only works at home with our wifi and not all over yet.  Matthew's mind is spinning with the possible people he wants to converse with. He had me call Grandpa this morning so he could ask him to get an itouch for texting. I love the idea of him being able to have a constant conversation with his grandpa....maybe just not at 5:00 am right Bob?

Half a lifetime ago...

I took Matthew on a field trip to an apple orchard.  He had just turned four.

It was his first time on a bus

It was the first time we discovered Honeycrisp apples.

Also archived on the old camera I found..before I was a photography whiz...this picture of Matthew with his stuffed dog that he got from our first realtor.  He loved it so much that he put Charlie's first collar on it. Both were lost in a Cabella's parking lot on the way back from Montana our first trip home.  

Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. 

So quiet you could hear a cricket chirp..

I have not talked to an adult all day...unless you count the mom at Walmart also buying last minute school supplies and ready to loose her mind along side me. I giggled at her ready to kill her children attitude and we both had a sigh together. 

I have however had many long excited conversations about world record facts, fishing, all the different kinds of dogs and puppies....and any other thing you can imagine an eight year old loves to talk about.  Currently how to build a cricket trap.

Earlier(about 30 minutes ago, and already over) Matthew went outside to play. I was reveling in the silence when I heard a cricket(or two) chirping in the kitchen. It turns out that that new pencil box makes a great home. 

I wonder if Minnesota has the latest school start? Does anyone else start later than us?