Back to School

Today was the kids first day back to school.  Yes, ALL of them!  Mason got accepted into Shining Stars Preschool, where Chloe went a couple years ago and Josie is going to a Mom's Preschool Exchange every Tuesday morning.  Wow!  Exciting for all the kids!  (Mom won't say just how excited she is about the whole ordeal!  Mason goes to preschool in the afternoon and Josie goes in the morning on Tuesday, so I don't quite have the alone time...just yet.) 

Here is the cute Kear Gang heading out for their first day!

Carter is going into 3rd Grade ~ Mr. Eisenberg

He called Mr. Eisenberg "Mrs." a few times until he got the hang of saying "Mr." Luckily the practice was before getting to school and saying it to his face.

Chloe is going into 1st Grade ~ Ms. Wallin

Chloe was thrilled to see her classroom decorated with cowboy boots and a Western Theme!  Ms. Wallin even has a pair of cowboy boots herself.  Thank goodness Carter passed his boots on to Chloe since hers got all worn out in one semester of Kindergarten!

Mason is going to afternoon preschool at Shining Stars 4 days a week!  His teacher is Mrs. Estala and he will be in the same classroom as Chloe was!  Yippee!

Josie goes one day a week with 5 other little princesses! 

She LOVES her new monkey shirt and flip-flops!

Now for the funny faces!

Mason getting on to the bus to go to school!  He didn't want to go to school last night.  His tummy hurt this morning and I think he was just a bit nervous.  It will take a few days of getting used to, but he will love it!

Is he really that little that he has to wear a seatbelt on the bus?  I almost shed a tear...he seems too little to be going to preschool!  What a happy day though!  He needs to stay busy. 

Just love these kids!  I can't believe how grown up they all seem today! They won't listen to me when I tell them to STOP growing!  I guess I just better fess up to the fact that these kids are getting all grown up!

Carter's Stamp Collection

One of Carter's scout requirements was to start a collection.  He chose to start a stamp collection.  He wanted his collection to be mostly queens.  What can we say, he loves the beautiful, rich and powerful ladies!  :)  Just kidding!

Happy Birthday Matt

Today is the birthday of The Greatest Dad in the World!!!

Everyone shout hooray!!!

As soon as Matt walked in the door from work, the kids tackled him to the ground and started giving him his birthday spankings while singing Happy Birthday.  We all counted each spanking...

One, Two, Three....Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen...

Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six,

Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine...

Matt interrupts us and asks, "How high are you counting?" reminding us that we had

exceeded his age limit by 5 years!  Oops!

Josie excluded herself from the fun, not sure she liked the idea of everyone spanking daddy!

He really got 3 times as many spankings as he should have, I guess catching up for all

the years we forgot to spank him!

We made one of Daddy's favorite meals. Parmesan Chicken with Pasta Salad and lots of fruits and veggies.  He led the kids in a series of "Hooray's & Yeah's" for who knows what, but it was keeping everyone entertained before dinner was ready.

He was thrilled to be sung to again before blowing out his single candle, representing his new age...  This year he wanted a lemon cheesecake instead of cake.  I think we are having an "I'm getting tired of cake" year. 

At least Matt and I are. 

What a handsome Daddy!

Ok, maybe I spoke too soon.  :)

I think he is making a good wish...I hope it comes true for him.

Here are the cards the kids made for him.  We pulled out the markers and stamps and the kids had a great time making special cards for their favorite man in the world.  They were precious and from the heart.

This yellow one is from Chloe and it was too precious.  It says,

"Dear Dad, I love you because you are cute."

Happy Birthday Matt!

We know that you are another year wiser!

Goodnight ~ Sleep Tight

Tonight, as part of the bedtime routine, I went to give Josie a "kiss and a big squeeze" and she would not let go.  She just kept hugging me tight and finally said, "Mommy, take a picture."  I told her that I couldn't take a picture because she wouldn't let me go.  Then she yelled for Daddy and told him to take a picture.  This started a whole round of bedtime picture-taking!

Mason has started sleeping in his clothes at night and wearing his pajamas by day. 

He is a little man with his own style.

I believe Carter was already asleep.  Good and tired boy!

Good Night!  Sleep Tight!

Josie's New Bed

Josie will be 3 this year and she just thinks she is as big as the rest of the kids.  She is still sleeping in a crib, because we are lazy and haven't figured out what we are going to do.  She just climbs into and out of the crib by going over the side.  It is a bit of a challenge, but she is tough enough. 

Well tonight, I noticed again that a few screws had come loos and one had fallen off...probably posing a hazard.  Anyway, we decided to just take off the side that was already coming off and let it be a little toddler bed.  Josie thought this was the greatest invention, because now she had her "own bed!"

She had to line up all her stuffed animals and tuck them into their blankets.  I told her to lay down and I would tuck her into her blanket also.  She looked at her animals and said, "No, I need to sit here and watch my babies.  Now take a picture."  And I followed her demand. 

She is so cute and loves to take care of all her babies. 

Oscar Meyer Wiener

Carter spent the weekend at Cub Scout Day Camp and at the very end, each pack did a skit.  His group did a really cute skit about Raisins.  The boys did this little dance with the words...

"We are raisins, make Raisin Bran so raisiny." They wore little black garbage bags over their shirts and continued doing the dance and song.  Along came a little group of "goons" and they took away the raisins one by one.

Finally the last raisin stops, looks around realizing he is alone, and then sings, "I am raisin, make Raisin Bran so raisiny."  When they take him away, he stops singing and shouts, "I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener!"

So, today Carter was teaching us the song about the raisins...which led to us singing the Oscar Meyer Wiener song.  Since Chloe picks up on the tunes to songs very quickly, she starts singing...

Oh, I wish I was a wiener to a dog,
Oh, I wish I was a wiener to a dog,
Oh, I wish I was a wiener, oh I wish I was a wiener, oh I wish I was a wiener to a dog. Woof!  Woof!

Matt and I thought we would die laughing because she had NO idea what she was singing about! 

Cub Scout Day Camp

This weekend was Carter's 1st Cub Scout Day Camp.  Matt and Carter stayed the night Thursday because they had set up Brother Stoddard's Teepee and many of the other stations and needed someone to stay there for safety.  They slept in the teepee and had a really fun time.  Carter stayed up really late catching grasshoppers with his friend Tyler Landon.  Tyler's dad, Josh, is one of Carter's Wolf Leaders. 

Friday morning came and the Pioneer Adventures began.  There were many activities to keep these boys entertained.  The pictures tell the adventures...

Candle Making

Lots of fun pioneer games.

The Stick Pull

Gunny Sack Races

Three-Legged Race

Leg Wrestling

This is Carter's Wolf Pack joined with another Pack.

This was Leather-Working in the Teepee!

Then a little B-B Gun Shooting.

Carter is quite the little sharp-shooter!

Banana Boats!  Carter loved this yummy snack!

Saturday brought a whole new day of fun activities.  Matt taught a class on woodworking and the boys made birdhouses.  Carter said this class was his "favorite" part because he got to work with his dad!

Saturday afternoon, families were invited to come and watch the boys perform their skits.  We may be partial, but we thought our Wolf Pack had the best skit.  They were dressed up like raisins in black garbage bags and they sang a little song about being raisins.  They were quite animated and had a fun time.

Here is a group picture of most of the Cub Scouts at the end of the day and weekend! 

They had a great time!

Carter came home both nights with a permanent smile on his face.  I asked him if he liked scouts and his eyes lit up and he shook his head yes.  He didn't look like he could be any more fulfilled!  He has definately found a passion in scouting!  It is in his blood lineage on both sides!  He can't wait until next year!