Stephen and his friend, Luke, took an evening last week to learn how to put up a tent (supervised by Curt and Lori), as they were going to have to be able to do it themselves at the Scout Camporee.

Nanny and Papa Parr

We had to say goodbye to Papa Parr last month. It has been a number of years since Nanny has passed on, but still they are in our thoughts. I feel blessed to have been able to spend many summers and holidays with my grandparents. I only wish it could have been more. I will miss Papa's phone calls.

I wanted to encourage everyone to call your grandparents this weekend. Make the effort to ensure that your children spend quality time with their grandparents. If you are lucky to have your kids grandparents live nearby, do not take it for granted.

Day 3 in San Diego! The last day at the beach, and the kids were determined to make the most of it. While Stephen and Sadie played in the waves, Sawyer played in the sand. We were sad to leave the beach, but were glad that we could make the trip.

And a big thanks to Lauri Gardner for telling us about Picasa, the program we used to make the photo collages. It should make blogging even more fun!!

Day 2 in San Diego. Back to the bay beach, then over to the ocean beach. The kids loved Mission Beach because there were actually waves there, as opposed to the bay. Then, after some pooltime, we went back to the ocean beach to watch the sunset.

Day 1 of our San Diego vacation. Stayed at the Catamaran Resort, right in Mission Bay. We had fun building a sand castle and burying the kids.

STRAIGHT 'A' KIDS!!!!

I am going to be one of those 'bragging' moms for a minute, so just bear with me!! :) I just got home from the kid's parent teacher conferences and I couldn't be more proud!! All three kids, Stephen in 6th grade, Sadie in 3rd grade and Sawyer in kindergarten, got straight 'A's! Their teachers are very proud of them and say they are all a joy to have in class! One of the things they are graded on each grading period is the memorization and recitation of a poem. They have to choose a poem, memorize it and then get up in front of their peers and recite the poem. Stephen and Sadie have always impressed me with their ability to do this over the years and I was a bit nervous for Sawyer to have to do this once he started school. He is my 'shy' one when it comes to doing things in front of people with everyone watching him. Well, he passed with flying colors!! Way to go Sawyer!!
Ok, I will shut up now!!! I just wanted to let you all know how very proud I am of the kids!

Stephen's Gecko, "Wiggles"

Over the summer Stephen's saved up his money from his allowance, birthday and taking care of the neighbor's dogs. He thought and thought and thought about what he wanted to purchase!!! Here is what he decided on..................WIGGLES!!!