So, I attended a reunion party for my madrigal group from high school. It was a fantastically good time! In the process of telling old friends about my life, I realized that Logan will be 5 in February. Now it may not seem like a big deal, but 5 is a BIG deal! It's much older than 4, which is still little and sweet. 5 year olds go to school. They have friends I've never met, and talk to adults I'm not familiar with. 5 quickly turns into 6 which is mouthy and oppinionated. And while I am having a panic attack about this birthday, I think about my sweet little boy and envision the kid he will inevitably become. And then I picture him as a teenager, and even older, becoming a daddy himself.  And I start to feel very old. But then my little boy runs up the stairs all excited to tell me about the latest episode of story book factory, which is his favorite cartoon right now. And I calm down a little, and remind myself that he's still only 4. He won't be 5 until February, and even then he'll only be 5. I still have years of driving him to birthday parties, and soccer games and tee ball. And he still calls me Mommy, and needs me to help him tie his shoes. And I still have work to do, so that when he is a teenager he'll love school and be nice to his sisters, and when he does become a daddy he will be the very best. No, my little boy is not grown yet, and 5 isn't that much older than 4. And Logan is going to LOVE kindergarten. :)

Be Drug Free week

Kati's school did a Be Drug Free spirit week. They had a crazy hair/hat day. Kati wanted crazy hair, which I thought was fun because she usually just wants to wear hats. So she came up with the idea for her hair all by herself. And she looked adorable. :) Then they had silly sock day. And then wear red day. I think she looked so cute in her red outfit. Until this day, she would never wear that jacket, because I bought it without her, but now she loves it. I think it was because her friend told her it was adorable. :)

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins for family night.

Kati picked a cat pattern. She marked it out and did most of the carving by herself. She's very proud. And it turned out very cute. Logan picked a spider pattern, but it was too big for his pumpkin, so Casey recreated it for him. I thought it was an amazing job freehand. Logan tried carving but it was a little too much for him, so he poked the pieces out after his daddy cut them. His spider turned out very cool.

Family Pictures

 We went on a drive and took some family pics. Hailey had a little diaper mishap so we didn't get any pics of the whole family. Another day...

A day at the lake

The mud people. :)

Hailey, after eating her weight in sand.

Having a very serious conversation

Building a sand castle with Uncle Rick and cousins.

Logan stirring up trouble. Nothing new here. :)

We went to the lake for a picnic to enjoy the final days of summer. The kids had a blast playing with cousins. They found a patch of clay and proceeded to smear it all over each other. Fun times! I must say I am going to miss summer when it's gone, but we are looking forward to going back to school, and our regular routine, with great anticipation. Kati will be going full day now for first grade. She is excited to eat in  the cafeteria and I am excited to have 6 hours between drop off and pick up. :) I am also looking forward to Fall. It's my favorite time of year for pictures, and hosts some of my favorite holidays. Casey is currently driving a day run, which means he is home every night. We are loving the new schedule. With any luck he will get a permanent day run this fall. Cross your fingers for us!

Updates

I recently had the opportunity to photograph my first wedding. It was an excellent experience and the pictures turned out great! It was a fun way to pay for a vacation to Vegas. I always love visiting family.

Kati has a fun week ahead of her. The end of school is sneaking up on us and they have a bunch of fun stuff planned. I am hoping it will be warm enough for their water day and field day.

The weather here is miserable and cold, so we have yet to plant most of our garden. There may not be a growing season at all this year with this freak weather. I really miss the warm sun.

Hailey has started saying a few words. She says "Thank you" and "uh-oh" and "Hi". She has such a sweet little voice. She's a bit spoiled because she's so dang cute it's nearly impossible to be stern with her.

Casey has decided to go to school fo the culinary arts. He is looking into becoming a caterer. I think it's a great idea. He cooks dinner every night he's home, and when he's gone I just heat up his leftovers. :)

Logan

My Logi is the most boyish boy I have ever met. He loves to run and jump and scare people and is always making up some story about how he beat up a giant, or how much stronger he is than superman. He has a heart of gold and does the sweetest things, but he also really likes to antagonize people. Especially people who cry alot. He's a big helper around the house. He loves to wash walls and windows, and that chore has saved my sanity on more than one occasion because he will keep at it for hours. He is a rambunctious little guy, but I sure love him.