The day has come...

I just sent my first born away to school for the next 7 hours...that's a long time for a little kindergartner! He of coarse could have cared less about any of us and couldn't wait for us to just leave him alone in his classroom. In fact, the last thing I saw was him taking over in a group of 4 little boys and telling them "ooh guys, I'm really good at these, watch me." He didn't even glance up at us to see if we were still around or not. Jared says I did much better than he thought I would. Not a tear shed. Some large "gulps" but no tears. Because truthfully, I am so excited for Parker to embark on this journey. I loved school when I was young. And he is so dang bored with me that we both knew it was beyond time for him to get on with it. My problem is not with him starting kindergarten, it's the fact that he now will be under the influence of so many more people than just me for the majority of his days. And that down right scares me! And I know kids will make fun of his whole wheat, no chips included, tons of veggies, lunch that I send him. I mean how long do I have before he starts chucking it and bullying his friends for thier snack pac? I remember the things I learned from friends in elementary school, and I am not ready for my baby to learn those things. Plus, there is no going back now. He will be in school for the next 13 years at least. This is the beginning of adulthood. He may as well be going off to college because as soon as I blink my eyes he will be. Ok, maybe that's extreme. It's just so crazy how grown up he is now. I hope he makes some good friends at his new school and has someone to play with at recess and sit with at lunch.

Walking to school with his buddy Cameron

This is Parker's good friend Cameron Haynie. Parker is a giant next to him! His family is in our ward and they have become some of our best friends!

I can't even stand how handsome my little kindergartner is.

Showing the boys how it's done

Scrappy is sure going to miss his "bubba" :(

More summer fun

Here's some fun pictures showing how we spent the rest of our summer...

Tage has entered the Superhero stage. I love it because he mixes all the superhero's up.He'll take part of one costume and part of another and make up his own superhero name. He hasn't quite figured out that the superhero's job is to save people though. So he usually just tries to scare us.

We are all pretty terrified around here :)

Tage got lots of playing time with his best buddy "Toopa" (Cooper Krewson). These two are only a day apart and so dang cute together.

I got sick of Parker bugging me every second to play the wii or go play outside with the neighbor kids. (our apartment isn't the ideal place to let kids wander around by themselves). So Jared and I started reading the Harry Potter series with him. I thought it would be a little over the top for him but I was totally wrong. He loves it! We do have to filter a few things but Jared and I like it now too. We've never really gotten in to the Harry Potter craze but now we fight over who gets to read to him. 

These boys are so goofy. I love their imaginations at this age. And they are finally at ages where they will play together. Here they found a case of water bottles on the floor and pretended they were taking naps while the other one went hunting or something like that. So cute.

The elementary school is just down the street so when it cools off in the evening we like to go shoot hoops. Or at least try :)

Cooling off with a refreshing dinosaur shaped, watermelon popsicle.

And life wouldn't be fun without hanging on to daddy's legs and making him walk around the  house. So we can definitely check that one off of our summer fun list :)

  Jared is such a good sport. Pretty sure he likes this stuff more than the kids do.

VISITORS!!!

We had visitors come to Texas!!! Nana, Papa, and uncle TJ came to see us after having a Flooring America conference in Houston. Too bad is was only a week after we had been with them in Utah, but we'll take em when we can get em! We had so much fun and were finally able to get out and have some good ol Texas fun.

(The boys were obsessed with TJ's i.....something. One of those "i" things)

We went and took a tour of the new Cowboys stadium. Holy crap. They are not kidding about the size of that screen! I can only imagine what a Garth concert would be like at this place....

Playing on the field

Fun in the end zone!

Jared wishing he was a skanky Cowboys cheerleader

                                  Trevor, Jared, and Parker in the player's lockerroom                                

                                They boys holding a press conference after the big game                                           
                             We also braved the insane heat and spent the day at 6 FLAGS!

It was soooo hot!

                        
This kid is fearless on the rides! He was so sad that he was barely too short for some of the rollercoasters.

He somehow talked his dad and Nana into riding this one with him. This is when they started out. Notice their smiles?

A couple of seconds later....not such a good idea after all :)

And Tage was heartbroken because he was too little for that one. So sad.

But daddy saved the day and won these...

By doing this!...His kids were so proud!

It was so much fun!

Nana, Papa, and TJ left 2 days before Tage's 2nd birthday so we had a little celebration before we sent them off.

He's so funny

We'll miss you guys! Hopefully next time you come you won't have to sleep on a couch in a tiny living room!

The journey back home

Here's some advice. Don't EVER fly stand by, husbandless, with 2 small children, in July. Just don't do it. Save yourself the stress, grief, and sweet, precious, TIME, and buy a regular old ticket. It's just not worth it. A big shout out to our wonderful family for letting us crash at their house for a few days (Lesha), and for driving us to and from the airport several days in a row (Wendy and Brenda). That's right. We spent THREE long days in the airport before we got on a flight home. The good news: we had someone to pick us up at the end of each day and take us to a comfortable, free,  place to sleep. The bad news: Our luggage made it back to Dallas on the first day with all of our clothes. Sooo, we had to wear the same clothes for 3 days in a row :) I actually don't think I've worn the pink dress I had on since. I look at it and shudder at the thought. Luckily I had extras for the boys in my carry on. But I was stuck. In the same pink dress for THREE long days. Not sure what I was thinking.

(Wish it could have been me taking the nap)

Looking back now I can kind of laugh. But at the time it was devistating. I missed Jared, the kids hadn't seen their dad in 3 weeks, I had a stroller, 3 heavy carry on's, a toddler who wouldn't stay by me, and a very, very bored 5 year old.

I was done being a single mom and we all needed the comfort of our own lives back. And for any of you wondering, crying does not get you your way. I am not an emotional person, at all. But I think I started bawling every time those dang gate checkers denied me. I was an emotional wreck by this point in our vacation and so, so ready to be done. On one of the days I refused to pay the $4 to use the luggage cart (seriously, what a rip off!!!). The carry on's were too heavy for Parker and we had left the stroller in Nana's car. So I was carrying 3 heavy bags, gripping Tage's hand for dear life, and trying to rush around the airport from gate to gate giving my sob story to anyone who looked like they might have sympathy and get me on a plane. No luck. I was at my worst. So I threw my bags down, threatened the boys with their lives if they moved, slid into one of those old phone booths, and cried like a baby. I couldn't believe that I was the freak show that everyone was watching. You know how the airport is usually fun because you can people watch and make fun of all the crazies you see? Ya, I was the crazy. And nobody ever offered to help me (probably because they were scared). They just stared.

(Watching a movie)

(I chased him all around the airport while he pushed an empty stroller. But it kept him from screaming!)

We finally got on the last flight on the 3rd day. We were just a little more than excited.

And the boys were even more excited to see their daddy!

Texas has never been so welcoming :)

Saying goodbye

(Mom and Dad, I hope this post doesn't make you sad. Since I am actually posting it loooong after you've already left on your mission. We miss you :( You're really the only reason I'm still blogging so hopefully I'm caught up with our current lives before you get home)

Saying goodbye to my mom and dad was a very strange thing. Since we would be going back to Texas in a few days, we were saying goodbye to everyone. So it was hard for my brain to wrap around the idea that it would be a really long time before we would see my parents. And that they would be so far away. Sitting here writing about it now makes me cry big, sad, tears, but at the time we were all so excited for them. I'm so happy I caught this on camera. This is Parker showing his Grandma how tall he will be when she gets home.

And I LOVE this picture of Tage and my mom. Messy face and all.

These boys will sure miss their Grandma and Grandpa.

And my mom will sure miss these dogs.....and her grand kids :)

Thank you mom and dad for setting this example for us. Your entire lives have been dedicated to serving others and our family has been, and will be blessed because of that. I have a feeling your service in the missionary field has only just begun.