Fun Run

Fir Grove had it's annual Fun Run today. Matthew looks forward to this event every year. He raised over $200 for the school and was excited to run hard and have fun today!

 Him and his buddy Kellan ready to go!

 He takes this very seriously and was all ready to take off and RUN!

He ran 4 more laps than he did last year and I couldn't be more proud of him!

 Happy boy!

Best friends enjoying post Fun Run treats!

Proud of my boy, thankful for our school!

Outdoor School

Evelyn spent this past week at Outdoor School at Camp Magruder in Rockaway Beach! I never went to Outdoor School so was so glad our middle school gets to send all of their 6th grader. Granted, it's 4 days away from her momma which isn't my favorite, but she had the BEST time, learned a ton (science is cool, y'all), and made some new friends. 

Ready to go!

So very thankful for the amazing group of friends who love Evelyn so well!! 

We missed her like crazy while she was gone! I am so thankful she went to church camp this past summer.. it made this separation much easier!

She came home tired and in need of a hot shower but full of stories of her time away. 

Post shower.. trying to escape Matthew the blanket monster..haha! He missed her terribly this week and would NOT leave her alone for the first few hour she was home. :) 

She is so glad she had this opportunity and said it was one of the best experiences she has had in school so far. I am thankful she had such a great time and learned so much.. and even more thankful she is home safe and sound!

Football

After playing flag football last year and LOVING it, Matthew was pleading with me to let him play tackle football this year. Being a former peds nurse and knowing how dangerous it could possibly be, I had a really hard time agreeing to it. But, the look in his eyes along with his love for the game convinced me to let him play.. just one year. He did spring training with the coaches and was so ready for the season to start in August. He did an amazing job in the "boot camp" prior to team practice starting and was ready for the season to begin.

Happy and tired boy after his first night of boot camp!

Due to the forest fires and the smoke that they brought into the city, practice was cancelled a lot. Matthew was awesome in trying to keep his conditioning practice us and worked out on my elliptical to make up for lost practice time. I was so proud of him!

First practice in full pads... Matthew and his buddy Owen were so excited!

First game tough man photos!! 

Smiles at the end of the game. He played with grit and toughness and we were so proud!

Grandma and Grand dad came to cheer him on. 

Sadly, his love for playing was overcome by anxiety. He really struggled with hitting others  (it seemed really mean to him, even if that really wasn't the truth) and really didn't like getting hit. His anxiety got so bad that we made the decision to stop playing. I could elaborate but let's just say it was one of the most difficult couple of weeks as we struggled to figure out how to help our sweet boy. We are thankful for amazing coaches who really helped and supported us as we navigated thru the muck, and they were in agreement of our decision. 

Thankfully there are flag football leagues for older kids so Matthew is so excited to be signed up to play flag again in the spring with two of his best friends. 

I am glad he got to try tackle football and that up until game time it had been an amazing experience. I am more thankful, tho, that my happy boy is "back" and that he feels like he was loved and supported in the midst of it all. 

Indy Car Racing

Doug got free tickets to the Indy Car race here in Portland along with pit passes. We all were super excited to go to this event, as the kids have never been to a race like this before. We had planned on going both Saturday and Sunday but sadly Matthew came down ill and we only made it to the qualifying event on Saturday. Still tho, we had a great day!

In pit lane... where we saw lots of drivers walking around.

It was cool to see all the cars coming out of the pits to go qualify. We saw most of the drivers as they walked on to pit lane too. 

The coolest part, for the kids anyway, was being able to sit in VERY high end cars. Both of them are very much into super cars and high performance cars, and this was so exciting for them!

Bummed to not make it to the actual race on Sunday, be we did watch it on TV as a family which was almost as much fun! :) 

First Day of School 2018

Here we go!! First day! Do I really have a third grader and a middle schooler?? I know it's been said before, but oh, how quickly time passes. This summer was known for being the shortest summer ever, as school didn't get out until the end of June and we are starting school BEFORE Labor Day (first time ever!). While I will admit (also for the first time ever) that I am ready for the kids to be back in school (I am learning how much I like the quiet... the introvert in me is coming out more and more), I do think we got cheated out of our summer a bit. But.. it is what it is.. and today we start school.

I made a gluten free puffed pancake. I actually think I like the GF one better than the regular one. And a puffed pancake fresh out of the oven is one of my favorite things to behold. 

First day of school definitely counts as a "red plate" day! 

 The first day of school has always been a hard one for Matthew. After a long period of being together over summer, saying goodbye is not his favorite, and there has always been tears from him. I am so thankful for Matthew's growth in confidence and courage the past year, and I am so thankful that today there was excitement and NO tears (well, except from mom.. after I dropped him off!)!! 

He is getting so tall!!

Once again, one of his best friends is in class with him, and they both were so happy about that and were full of silliness this morning!

Ready to learn, ready to grow! So proud of this kid and how well he did today at drop off. Seriously.. all smiles, no tears. This is huge... and my heart is so happy!

Middle School. MIDDLE SCHOOL!! How can that be?? Evelyn was understandably a bit nervous this morning. A new school with a lot more kids, 6 teachers instead of one or two, and entering an age that is complicated and has challenges of its own. BUT.. she is ready and was excited to be heading to school this morning. I could not be more proud of my smart, beautiful and kind young lady!

My baby girl is growing up...

Walking to school with one of her besties made the start of the day less nervous. These two make me smile!

She is officially a Raider.. just like her momma!! I love that she is going to the same middle school that I went to. Lots of fun memories here for me, and I hope Evelyn makes some great memories here, too!

Both kiddos had a GREAT first day and had lots to talk about this afternoon. They both like their teachers and have strong groups of friends. I am so thankful and grateful for a good first day!

It's a whole new season for our family, with two kids in two different schools with two different schedules with different activities different nights of the week. We'll do what we need to do to make it all work, and I hoping it's their best years yet!

Last Hurrah

I honestly cannot believe school starts TOMORROW! This is the first year ever we've started school before Labor Day... Doug and I included! We made the most of our last weekend before the big day tho, and made some great memories!

Saturday night we headed to Portland International Raceway for "Saturday Night Drags", the weekly drag racing event. Both Evelyn and Matthew are REALLY into cars... fast cars in particular...and so this event is right up their alley! Doug and Matthew have been a few times before, but it was a first for our entire family together.

So.. this summer Doug and the kids built a gravity car.. cuz my husband is super talented and does crazy fun projects with the kiddos. :)  They have enjoyed it this summer and we took it to the middle school (where there are lots of hills) tonight for one final run before the big day tomorrow. It was a little chilly and misty but we had fun.

I have video as well, but blogger isn't letting me post them. I'll try again soon.

The kids went to bed, nervous and excited for what tomorrow (and the year) will bring!

Thankful for a fun last hurrah!

A Day of Fun

The kids and I went to the Family Fun Center in Wilsonville today as a "last hurrah" before school starts on Monday. We won free passes in a school raffle and put those to use. We had the best time! We had never been before, and didn't realize how amazing this place it! From mini golf to lasertag to a ropes course to a go-kart track to an arcade... they have so much to do!!

Mini-golf was first up for us...

This girl got a hole in one on the third hole!

We see this castle from the freeway and the kids were so excited to see it up close. :) 

I think we spent most of our time riding in the go-karts. Oh my goodness the kids LOVED doing this! My back didn't like it as much so I watched them most of the time.. but the couple rides I did do were SO fun!

This kid can wheel his way around the track, that's for sure!! He loved this so much!

Zip line fun.. Matthew didn't want to do this one! 

We got soaked on the bumper boats.. Matthew LOVED it. Evelyn and I.. not so much..haha!

Love these two wet heads with all my heart!

My adventurous girl LOVED the ropes course!!

.....and Matthew took selfies instead of taking pics of me and his sister..haha!!

Arcade fun.

So thankful for this great day with my kiddos. We will go back to this place again for sure!!