So much room

Had a moment this afternoon when I was struck by how thankful I am for this new kitchen and it's incredible space!  Leah and I could both work at the same time, one making cookies and one making supper and both with our own counter space and plenty of room to move around.

So very thankful!

A beautiful morning!!

I love these kids... 

although Leah is doing her best to mess with the stairstep effect!! She's wearing flats and making Sam look like a shorty these days!

  Boy do I miss them but I'm sure thankful they are still all so excited to go...even Cody.

Glad I got a camera outside this morning... and the kids were glad I forgot to charge the battery so they could run up and down the sidewalk waking any sleeping neighbors seeing as how we now had more than 10 extra minutes to wait for the bus :)

On a Second thought...

Maybe there is a good reason to have a half day on the first day of school!!!

Looking forward to going through the summer's pictures and recording a bunch of memories.  In the mean while, if you look close you see a sort of sneak peak of what has kept us busy for the last while and also of what kind of spoiled I probably feel with the getting there new kitchen/addition.

And no, there's no first day of school photos... I may have only gotten 4 of the 5 on the bus this morning??  Maybe?? Apparently I forgot to take into account that Cara's feet got bigger this summer and she could use new shoes besides her flip flops... Church shoes worked for this morning (as well as the fact that the bus makes a bit of a longer stop just up the road - even if it wasn't real nice of the Kanis's to laugh!!!!) but I'm really not sure what she'll wear in this downpour should it continue in the morning.  Friday is looking like it will be nice and sunny for pictures... but I doubt I'll get them all showered again for the second time in one week. :)

ps.  There must be some Mom points for making sure 4 kids had runners that fit!

Well....

The biggest conclusion of the day is that my dear husband is a VERY hard worker!!!

This morning when I got up, lots of last minute stuff to get rid of!

 By the time I left for the farm it was well on it's way to being ready for Steve.  He took care of the last little details.

 And I didn't see it again until I got home at 8 tonight.  Too bad the fridge is in the way but you can see the water lines coming up sort of the center of the picture...that would be where the sink was on the above pictures!

 Looking from the left side of the dining area to the back door...

Can I get a WOW??!!! It's both incredible and intimidating all at once :)

Changes ahead!

Dear Dad and Mom, if all goes well there are BIG changes ahead... might want to check in again on Monday!!

 And that is the evolving laundry space.  Washer, dryer and tub are all in the same spot as before!  No more spider corners.  My intention is to get that tub clean and useable!

Because it will be the only place to wash dishes for a while :)

Track Day

Some fantastic running....

 Plain old relaxing...

 Good hard tugging...

 A bit of never give up sliding...(yes, that would be Cara at the bottom of the pile!)

 Lots of cheering and encouraging....

 Do NOT lose muscle straining....

 And still more cheering :)

Not to mention all the other fun activities.  Thanks to all the teachers/staff who made this day such a GREAT one for the kids!!!

One from Cara

Cara's gooder of the day....discussion while walking back from berry fields.

Mama, how old is Auntie Shelly?

Hmm, I think about 22.

Can she make breakfast???


hahahahahahaha  LOVE you Shelly!!!