M.E. PATERNOSTER: September 2013

Friday, September 13, 2013

The one with the kids going off to school

Big Kindergartner!! And full day even!! He was so excited.

What a handsome guy.

Savannah was set on going to school too. When we dropped Troy off in his classroom, she insisted on putting her back-pack in a cubby then said to me, "Bye Mom! I go to school!" Poor thing left kicking and screaming because I wouldn't let her stay.

Can I really have a 1st grader?!

Troy was SUPER excited to be getting his picture taken. I think he was just mad that he wasn't starting school that day. He started a couple days later. They did what they call a "gentle start" for the kindergartners this year, since it is full day.

My girls! Thanks Troy for the great picture!

Savannah and I have been loving our one-on-one time! But we are definitely ready at the end of the day for Brooklyn and Troy to come back home. I am so proud of Brooklyn and Troy and the great choices they make at school every day. I know they are great friends and students to all they meet. I couldn't be prouder!

The one when the Balls come to visit

We love when the Balls come to visit! Our families seem to mesh seamlessly, and we always have a blast. Friday night we went out for Mexican food, then just hung out around home. Saturday we visited the Freemont Troll, ate a delicious lunch at Bongo's (a little Cuban place near Greenlake), then the boys headed out for the big game. I got us girls a baby-sitter, so Katie and I headed out for a little dinner and shopping. We decided shopping took precedence over food, so we shopped, then grabbed a quick bite at Gyro house. Yum! We came home happy with our purchases, and stuffed to the brim in our tummies. The boys however didn't have as much success with the outcome of the game. It was a major blow-out for the Broncos, and Coach Pete's biggest loss yet. Needless to say, they were a tad bummed when they got home. Sunday we went to church, then headed out so the Balls could get an early start on the road. We let the kids run around Coulon for a bit so they would be tired on the road. We were sad to see them go so soon, but can't wait for their next visit!

Have you seen any cuter girls?!

Gooooo Broncos!!!

"Get me off this creepy thing!!"

These boys are kinda strange... lol

I LOVE the way Troy is looking up to Tyler in this picture. It totally depicts how Troy feels about Tyler. He is such a great kid and role-model! And SOOOOO patient with Troy.

Work it ladies!

A little treat before the game, and babysitter! Notice Savannah didn't stop drinking just for another measly photo. That girl loves her milkshakes!

The one with the handsome 5 year old!

Holy moly, Troy is 5!!! This boy keeps us on our toes with all his energy, enthusiasm, gusto, and sometimes temper. We love him to the end of the numbers! He wanted a Batman birthday party, so that's what he got!

What a handsome kid. Love that cute smile

They were all pretty excited about the pirate ship

Troy asked for ice-cream instead of cake. But he picked out cake batter ice-cream! lol

All the super-heroes!

Cousins! Shae and Annie

"On your marks, get set..."

"GO!!"

Yes, we do coloring stations at every party now. The kids love it!

Troy totally scored!

"Oh my heck! Troy, now we have TWO!!!"

Ready, aim, FIRE!

Kinda hard to smile with a mouth full of candy aye Shae?! lol

The party ended with a little nerf gun fight.

The one where we go on a road-trip

Oh man, what a fun trip we had! We went to Boise for 2 1/2 weeks, and it was such a blast! I drove over/down with the kids, then Erik flew over a couple weeks later. We did a ton of slip n sliding down Grandma and Grandpa Hill's hill, ate a bazillion Popsicles...sometimes that's what we had for breakfast, lunch AND dinner, had our fair share of snow-cones and Sonic 1/2 price milkshakes, checked out Chick-fil-a for the first time (and TOTALLY worth it for the sauce alone! yum), spent time with old friends (although there still didn't seem to be enough time for this!), went to the lake a couple times, celebrated Grandma and Grandpa Paternoster's 50th wedding anniversary, watched my amazing sister complete her first triathlon, took lots of bubble baths with cousins, stayed up way too late, and got up WAY too early, and put on about 10 lbs (well I did...ugh). It was such a nice relaxing trip, even though we jam-packed everything in. So here is an overload of pictures of a few of the things we enjoyed while there. Oh, and did I mention the weather? Perfect! Albeit hot, but I love it when it is super hot inside, then going in to a nice, cold air-conditioned house. Ahhhh Boise summers, you are the best!

Troy and Zander make quite the team. They are so funny to watch together! Troy REALLY misses his Zander :(

Cousin Brian and Elena (these two girls had WAY too much fun together!) These girls FINALLY convinced him to go down the slide with them. No one can deny their cuteness!