Morning Routine

Before school started, being the "Type A" person I am, I was concerned about how the boys would do in the mornings with getting up and ready before it was time to go.  Of course, I turned to Pinterest and found these cute little gems and proceed to make my own version of them.  As they complete each task, they close that flap and move to the next task.  It works really well and allows them to be more self directed, instead of me having to stand over them all morning long.

The charts include, getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing hair and teeth, and even the kicker....Making the bed. Before August, my boys had never made their beds before.  They had helped me and thrown a few blankets, but never done this task by themselves.

I'm happy to say that the charts are working extremely well, and the best part is the bed making.  Check this out!

These beds were made by 4 year olds.  All.  By. Themselves.

It's not perfect, but it's definitely a start.

Pre-K files

Mrs. Davis is our Pre-K teacher.  We love her!  She is also our Aunt Kay.  We really love her.  Sometimes she sends Momma pictures and funny stories of us.

Being a 4th grade teacher myself, I've never really paid attention to the Pre-K classroom until now.  I have definitely determined that I don't ever want to teach Pre-K.  Talk about herding CATS!

Here are a few text messages from the Teacher:

* Just have to tell you that we are doing a "my school book".  It has a picture of the teacher.  I asked them if my hair was black and Hunter answered, "No, your hair is GRAY!"
* I asked Heath to write his name on his paper.  He did.  In GLUE STICK!

Final note for today. 
Hunter got a yellow smiley face today (green being the best, yellow warning, red bad) because he hit someone.  Who was that someone, you ask.....Heath!  It is not OK to hit, even if it is your brother.

Happenings

The last few weeks have been a whirl wind.  School started for the twins and I had a blast watching them walk in the hallway and peeking into their classroom through the doorway.  Their teacher is wonderful, of course we knew she would be because she is my sister.  The boys love being in Aunt Kay's Mrs. Davis' Classroom.  Stand by for a special "Pre-K diary Post"

The first week of school, I had to take off on Thursday and Friday to help my dad take my mother to the Dallas area for her knee replacement surgery.  Everything went as planned there and Mom is doing great with her new knee.  We even got to come home a day earlier than planned.

When I got home, the boys were sick.  We started them on breathing treatments and asthma medicine, and Chris took them to the doctor on Tuesday after the holiday weekend.  Turns out Heath had pneumonia.  Hunter stayed home on Tuesday and Wednesday and Heath didn't come back to school until Friday.  They are doing much better now, and I have to say that my Hubby is super awesome because he stayed with them all this week so I didn't have to miss more school.  I sure missed my babies though, but Daddy did a great job and even made them do the make-up work that their teacher sent home.

In the midst of all of that, Hunting season has started and Chris has been super busy with that and his new Swift Water Rescue training.

Hopefully it will slow down around here soon and this family won't just be a blur that you thought you saw fly by.

1st Day of Pre-K

I can't complain too much, Mrs Davis, my sister is their teacher, but man it was harder than I thought it would be. I think Daddy may have taken it harder than I did though. At least they are in the same school building as I am, they are just down the hallway.

Bike Riders

So...apparently this is happening!  My 4 year olds can ride their bikes without training wheels.

Devil's River 2013

Who needs words, when the pictures can explain it all!

Palo Duro Canyon, Texas

Our church group recently went camping at Palo Duro. It was my first time to ever go there and the canyon is beautiful!  Just the twins and I went because Chris had to work, and we road up there in the motor home. The boys thought that was a blast even though they were still buckled up the entire way. 

They had a blast running all over the camp ground with their friends. 

The weather was beautiful and a little rainy. We wore pants and jackets the whole time. Such a nice break from the normal Texas temps. 

It rained while we watched the play, Texas. It was definitely an experience we will never forget.