Our little politicians

Today was election day...

Matt was running for student body president.

Hannah was running for secretary. 

Hannah...sigh. What is not to love about her. She is a born leader. She is so smart and talented(you should seriously hear her sing) She is actually singing tomorrow for a group of parents that have lost a child. I just love this picture of her. It makes me smile. Hannah, you are incredibly wonderful! 

Matt and Hannah might only see each other as friends but I hope someday her influence on him helps him choose someone equally kind, sweet and beautiful. 

 This is Tessa,

Matt has known Tessa since kindergarten. She too has influenced Matt. Tessa's mom is a friend of Jenny and I. Do you notice her broken collar bone? She did that at school last week. 

 Matt made me so proud that I almost started crying. It was a combination of things...being so glad to be in this school still...having Mike by my side to cheer Matt on...seeing our wonderful and amazing child bloom again... and watching him do so well. 

I almost cried. I decided to beam with pride instead.

These are his running mates. Almost all girls. 

Marvelous Matt

I guess when you get to be a 4th grade you move up to Marvelous Me instead of "star of the week" This was Matthew's week to be Marvelous Me..but we all know he is always Marvelous Matt all the time!

 The only think more marvelous is seeing Hannah sitting right behind him.It is such a blessing to see her face. There is just so much I don't take for granted anymore. 

 This was Matt's board.. a few highlights.. 

 He actually put his full name, or tried.  Very few people know that his birth certificate reads "Matthew Clair Allen Willits" It made Mike's day to see that he actually wrote that. 

 Then it doubly made his day to see him write about AC! Less than 2 weeks and they will be on the train bound for the showerless, womanless lands of Montana. 

 Matthew got to share something with the class. He chose his RC car he bought with his own money in Montana when we were there. 

 Then he drove it around the class

 This is his project he turned it about the Trail of Tears.

 Then it was time for the playground!

This is Matt with his best friend from school, James. They have been pals since 2nd grade. I too adore James. he is so much like Matthew. 

I am running the blog for Matthew's teacher again this year(bet you would never have guessed that) If you want to see more from his day go to 

www.misskmeyer.blogspot.com

Changing of the seasons

There is so much irony in this post. 

The seasons are changing... and changing fast.

I love the fall but with it comes the dread of winter.

Charlie must know this too. In the past few days Mike and I have found him to be missing numerous times.

After searching the house the first few times, we have come to figure out that he was relishing the crisp and comfortable fall air. He has spent many house outside the past few days stretched out on the grass. Mike and I have actually watched him through the window as he wagged his tail happily as he enjoyed his own company. That is always followed up by a good roll in the grass and a big doggie smile. 

I keep joking with Mike that he probably knows these are his last nice days he will ever enjoy. He gets older everyday and winter is not easy on an old dog(or Monica)

Today as we peeked out the window to see him sprawled out on the lawn enjoying the fresh air, and just happy to be there...Mike felt the need to just go hang with him.

Two old pals, both in new seasons of life.

Both very content.

It made my day.

The feeling of peace and grace that has filled our house in the past few weeks is at the least noteworthy. 

It has trickled down to even the littlest of our family members.

Happy to be here, happy to lay here, happy to be by your side...said Chuck!

cleaning out everything...

Mike and I have been taking our house room by room and reorganizing it. This has included finding a lot of crazy stuff we forgot about, and throwing out a lot of stuff. I am doing the same with my endless supply of memory cards. I am finding lots of fun stuff. These pictures are from a water balloon fight that the kids had at the end of last year. 

 Nice throw Hannah!Too bad it bounced of Matt's back. 

This water ballon fight actually ended badly...One of them, I am not naming names but his initials are MW!! got in very big trouble. 

 Charlie was just happy to be outside

Why does summer have to be so short...and winter so long?

And then there was 5

 This week we added a new member to our car pool clan. This is a big deal for many...

1. It is the first time BES has had 4 kids from one family. Yes, Jenny you are an amazing woman! This proves it.

2. Our car is now full to the brim!

3. Jenny now has a few days a week all to herself! Can you imagine...going from 4 little ones all under 5 to having no one at home? 

Welcome Nora! I was looking forward to you riding in my car too! I hope this year is everything you have imagined in all these years waiting... So glad to see your face in my sign pictures.

Happy birthday Shana

My friend Shana has a birthday today. Her birthday is the day before 9/11 and this year makes me see her birthday in a different light. Both our boys are about the same age and we both would have been pregnant when the towers fell. I can't imagine waking up the day after my birthday pregnant and seeing the world change so much. 

I will never forget the day I met Shana. A neighbor introduced us and we ended up talking for hours. Then our boys ended up deciding to go to my house without asking us. We were only a street apart so this would not normally have been a big deal but they were both under the age of 4 and they disappeared! We had so much in common and it was so nice to find someone who shared my point of view on life. 

Dear Shana, You are one of my favorite people in the world. I have loved being a part of your life for the past 5 years. You are seriously one of the prettiest people I know, on the inside and out. I love your passion for stay at home mothering. You are an amazing mother. You always make me laugh and you tolerate me even when I am annoyed by everyone on the beach;-) 

It still breaks my heart that you moved across town and we never made it to the beach more like we promised...*sigh* So glad I may get another chance at it.

Thank you for being a better friend to me than I have been to you this past year too. I know that sounds cheesy but that is how I really feel. 

 Thank you so much for all the laughs we have had, you are the sister I never had. 

Here is to us in 50 years! 

I can't wait to see what this year brings for us. No more trips during the NW gsales or it is over though!!

The Willits growth chart

Some people have a growth chart on the wall...I have the school sign. I don't know what is growing more, them or the numbers of them. Next week we get a new face. 

And then they jumped for joy! 

Wait???Isn't it still Kindergarten?

 I can't believe it...

Just yesterday Mike was kissing our baby boy goodbye at the steps as he left for kindergarten. I can still picture it. I can even see what he was wearing. I went to sleep and woke up(way to early) to see him getting ready to leave for 4th grade! 

 Too old for kisses, too cool for smiling pictures, and too cool for mom to try and fix his hair. Trust me a I tried. He said I made it look dorky(um...okay) 

 I tried to take a better one than this but it will have to do. Mike and I did not think he would be here for this day so it was a blessing. 

 Then it was off to meet up with his pals for the ride to school. Our school already starts early and being that it is 20 minutes away from us mornings start pretty early. Finding out that school was going to start 10 minutes earlier this year was not good news. 

See you in the P.M. 

Can't wait to take my traditional shots after school!!

We have one more joining us this year but she won't be around until next week:-)

How goes it cowboy baby?

The summer is quickly ending. I have so many many photos to share and edit. Honestly, I have around 5000...

I can't wait to share more with you. I will be getting right on that in the next few days. Along with so many other projects. In the mean time let me share a few things with you.

After a year of feeling like a yo-yo and never seeing each other, the Willits family,  are finally feeling somewhat normal again. On a whim we decided to take a family bonding trip to the Dells the last two days. This included absolutely no cell phones, for the first time since Matthew was born! No one could get ahold of us! No one needed to. It was the best way to start our new chapter. 

I did not shoot many pictures as I swam almost as much as the boys but I will share them with you soon.

In the mean time I have to share this picture for Wall Drug from our return drive from Montana. One of the few places Mike stopped for us...even though he threatened not to during one of our few(very funny) fights we had despite being in the car together 21 hours each way..over photography rules of composition btw. 

I don't think we were speaking when I took this photo...I think this adds to the mood of the photo.

Now I can check Wall Drug off my list of places to see before Matthew grows up. 

More Montana

 Most of my pictures from our trip our from the road...moving. Mike and I were on a mission to find a house. I did not really disclose that before because our whole moving thing has been such a roller coaster since last July that I did not want to start it again. We actually had high hopes and seeing family was helpful...but do you ever feel like you are headed in for a slaughter? That is how we felt about this move. It did not feel good to us at all. The houses we looked at and the places we went did not work.We however, saw the whole state in a week! If you are not familiar with Montana..it is BIG! 

 Mike's dad grilled pizza for us one night. It was nice to see them, even if it was really brief.

Then we were off to Kalispell for Mike to work again. It is so pretty here. It was too bad we could not enjoy it. 

More to come

Simplify...

I have a saying on my wall that reads "Tis a fool who does not return to the place of their last happiness"

This place for Mike is Belt Creek. It is where his grandfather taught him about life, and fly fishing. It is a very special place. 

 This was the cabin that the family had for many years. It is a special place for both Mike and I. One of our good friends from high school got Mike in trouble with his grandfather for his one and only time here. That friend was killed shortly after high school in a plane crash. It forever left a hole in our heart. 

 This is the old mossy fountain that has been keeping the pump going for many years. 

 Then there was grandma...

 Before we even got inside we knew we were there. Her house always smells amazing...just like her. 

 It was a simple joy just to see Mike shucking corn with her.

We went with her out to visit Clair.

She told me so much about the family history as we looked at all the gravestones. 

 And then we were off to get back to Mike's work trip.

But not before a lot of tears and a signature lipstick kiss on Mike's cheek. 

Mike was in big trouble for not shaving btw! The kiss is one of my favorite memories about Dot and I so desperately wanted to capture it. Guess we have to go back:-)

Do you ever just need a good laugh

Today we learned that with 100% certainty we are not moving to Montana. 

There are perks and stresses to knowing this.

At the moment we are taking a moment to breathe...

On the bright side, I think I will finally be able to get back to making signs again:-) I am going to restructure a bit. Stay tuned.