August - Episode 3 (Back To School!)

 Makenna Mae. 7 years old (well, just a few days shy of 7). In the 2nd grade. When I think of my memories from 2nd grade it amazes me that this little girl is really getting so big! Her teacher this year is Mrs. Velguth. Her personality is Very different from Makenna's 1st grade teacher (Mrs. Balough), so at first it was a bit of a rough transition (for Makenna and for Mom and Dad). But we have adjusted and gotten used to her and have really grown to like her. She does a good job and treats Makenna well. Makenna is learning so much. And this year she has finally really embraced reading and found a love for it!

 Kellen boy. 4 1/2 years old. In Transitional Kindergarten (also known as TK). It's his first year in Elementary School. TK is full day and a lot like Kindergarten. They are in the process of changing the Kindergarten admission age so that you have to be 5 on or before Sept 1st. So this year Kellen just barely missed the cut off. At first I did not like the idea of this. But I have quickly been reassured that this has been a great thing for him. He loves school and is learning SOOOO much. He will be So prepared for Kindergarten, I have no doubt that the will have a great start and be a big step ahead in class next year. He loves his teacher Mrs. Zarzan and feels like a big boy. He is already starting to sound out words and read by himself. So proud!

 Watching these 2 walking up to school together on the first day of school literally brought tears to my eyes. They are such sweet kids and becoming little people of their own.

 Makenna in her class on the first day of school...pink pencil box all loaded and ready to go!

 Kellen in his class on the first day of school. He was lucky enough to start the year with 2 friends already...Brett who he knew from pre-school and Joseph our new, awesome neighbors!

 Another baby leaving his mama....

 Daddy helping Kellen with his first day of school project.

 The nice part about having both Makenna and Kellen at school is that it has given Mommy and Conner some more one-on-one time together. It's always interesting to see how your child is when it's just you and them vs their behavior when they are with friends and siblings. Though Conner can be a wild child, he is actually very sweet, silly and sensitive when it's just him and you. I feel like the time we have had with just us and baby hanging out together has brought us even closer than we were before. I love this little boy and his silly, happy, funny little personality.

I see a great friendship for these two boys. So lucky to have each other!

 A few weeks later this little stud muffin started pre-school! It was one of those exciting and sad moments all at once. I know he is the type of kid that loves stimulation and loves to be social and that preschool will be a great thing for him. But it feels like I am starting to loose my little toddler. It is weird to have them away from you and not know what they are doing for a number of hours during their day. But he certainly looks big enough to be in preschool. It's always hardest on the mama.

 We LOVE Circle Preschool!!

Day 1 of Preschool went great! Day 2, 3, 4...those were a little harder. There were tears for a little while. He would get really sad when I left but they said he would calm down quickly. And then he made a few friends...Rawson and Murray, and things completely turned our. He started Asking to go to preschool! Happy little boy!

August - Episode 2

 When Makenna was 5(ish) she and Grammy went on a special date to the circus while it was in town. Makenna and Kellen have been asking when our family could go since then. So when it was back around this year we thought it would be a great "end of the summer" surprise for the kids. And boy were we right. The kids LOVED it. You can't tell by the pictures above (perhaps they were just overwhelmed and stunned by all the excitement around them), but they were in heaven!!

 Each kid got to pick a souvenir. Makenna - a white tiger in a pink bag. Kellen - a stick that has things that spin and light up with a dancing elephant on top. Conner - a sword (that boy and his weapons....)

 This picture of Kellen makes the whole trip worth it. Pure child happiness and amazement at it's finest! I tell you, things are fun to experience as kids....and they are even better to re-experience as an adult through your childs eyes. 

August - Episode 1

Summer was busy this year. And not only was it busy, but truth be told, I just wasn't a whole lot in the mood to go to the beach a ton with a crawling baby. Though I love the beach, I also find it intensely stressful with such little ones. Especially if it is just me watching them all at once. But I was a good girl and made sure to take them enough times to get some cute pictures so I can say "See, I was nice and brought you to the beach every summer!!"

 For some reason the beach is not the beach without a nice, sandy can of pringles (or is that just me?)

 Some people take sand castle building more intense than others...

 ...Others don't take much of anything seriously at all...

 Well, after 4 kids I finally had a sand eater. I have heard parents talk about kids wanting to eat sand. And until Carys I just thought they were crazy. But this little girl showed me what it was all about. The minute this girl touched the sand she Immediately scooped up a handful and went straight for the mouth. You would think she would realize this was gross and not do it again. But No. She wanted more and more. It was quite an effort to keep sand out of that girls mouth. Mom did her best but my success was far from perfect.

 One of the highlights of the summer for these goons was the day we got to go see Ronal McDonald at the local public library. It really was quite cute. The kids got to sit and sing songs, watch magic tricks and learn about the fun of reading with Ronald. Pretty Awesome!

 Boxes can be fun if you know how to use them the right way.

 Kellen totally cracks me up! The kids were playing in their boxes while I made lunch. When it was time to eat Makenna and Conner set their boxes aside, but not Kellen. I told him he was going to have a hard time not making a mess. But he showed me up and amazingly did a great job, even if he looked like a goof doing it.

 Not such a little pup. But Such a good boy! This puppy has stolen our hearts.

 It's not often that all kids are around at a time when we can go have lunch with Grammy. The kids LOVE going to her work, Love riding in the fast elevator to the 13th floor and getting to look out the window to see how high we are. And as always, they love to fill their pockets with skittles from her candy machine in her office. We love our Grammy!

 Family trip to the Zoo during their summer nights. It still surprises me how much I love the zoo. Even if we go quite a lot, it is just such a nice place to be. I love having passes and being able to take our time and stare at the cheetahs for 10 minutes if we want to. It is always great weather, a good work out walking along and a fun way to help educate the kids. I hope they never get sick of it.

A quick picture with the amazing trampoline bouncing Kangaroos. Conner was nervous about taking a picture with them, but he was the one that talked about them every day for the next month and often would try and dress up like them and act like them in his mouse costume. Silly boy. 

P.S. Nice pose Kellen boy!

July...The Finale

 Baby Girl turned 9 months in July! Such a happy little face! At 9 months Carys was steadily pulling herself up to standing. Gone are the days of greeting a sitting or laying baby in her crib after her nap. Now I see this standing, smiling face instead. Carys will also stand at the screen door, looking longingly outside as her brothers and sister ride their bikes, swing and play....just dying to go out there with them. She wants soooo bad to keep up with the big kids. She will just squeal at them with delight every time they come past. So cute!

Carys had 0 teeth at 9 months old. Not even swollen gums or anything. She loves toys that make noise and have buttons to push. She is learning how to open the cabinets in the kitchen and loves to pull all the snack of the bottom shelf of the pantry cupboard. Her Favorite thing to eat is yogurt. She is still a picky eater, but getting better. At 9 months she was down to 2 solid naps a day and was still nursing very well. She is just a happy, sweet little bundle of joy!

 It's a good thing I have never been too freaked out by rodents!

 A little bit of baby Monroe action going on here....ha ha!

 Grammy joined us on a nice, warm summer evening for a trip to the wild animal park. It was such a nice evening. Perfect weather, small crowds and lots of fun!

 Even the boys were in a super sweet, loving mood that day! 

 We had to make a quick stop to lay a few eggs along the way.

 Carys just loves her Grammy. I love the way that she reaches for Grammy and wants her to hold her every time she sees her. And Grammy has the masters touch at getting this little girl to relax, cuddle up any go to sleep on her shoulder. It is so cute!

 We let the kids get soaked....so soaked they had to strip down to their undies before getting in the car. But that is what being kids is all about, right?

 Grammy and Pa surprised the kids by buying the awesome seesaw to put in their backyard. We surprised the kids with it on a sunday afternoon after church. The kids thought it was awesome trying it out Inside the house. It is definitely a good thing that this is just at Grammy's house and not in our own backyard. If the kids had too much time with this in their own backyard it would only be a few days before they would get comfortable enough to try things like catapulting each other across the yard or something along those lines. McKamey kids don't seem to do anything the "normal" way. They always like to take it to the next level...

 Con Con did Such a good job in his swimming class this year. It is a little nerve racking sending your child into a class on their own (without parental hands on guidance) for the first time. Especially a water class. Luckily he was going in with Makenna and Kellen. Though he was pretty sad the first couple of days when they gave him a hug and then walked to their own classes. But he was a great listener and was very willing to try everything they asked him to do. It made him really excited about practicing his swimming at Grammy and Pa's without his floaties with the help from Mom. 

 We discovered a hidden talent the both Makenna and Kellen possess....the ability to make some pretty impressive guns out of trio blocks. Seriously, I don't know how these kids do it. Kellen goes for the smaller, pistol type guns while Makenna prefers a rifle. 

Not only does Carys LOVE her dogs, but she secretly aspire to be one herself!