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The Traveling Backpack

Last Thursday, Benjamin was beaming from ear to ear when I picked him up from school. He was chosen to take the traveling backpack home from school for one week.

Benjamin was so excited!

 Inside the backpack was a Skippyjon Jones stuffed animal, book, and note from the teacher.

In my early days of teaching, I did this same activity with my kindergarten class. The kids always looked forward to being the one to take the backpack home each week. I thought it was a great school-home connection. However...now I'm seeing this activity from the parents point of view and I have to say...it's so STRESSFUL! I'm completely paranoid something is going to happen to this animal.

I know Benjamin will be sad to see Skippyjon Jones and his book return to school tomorrow, but I'm going to be breathing a sigh of relief!

Hooray...Bath Time Can Be Fun!

Well...it took some time, but Lillian has finally decided that bath time can be fun. It just took some hot water, rubber duckies, Spider Man bubble bath...

and her "little" big brother Benjamin who makes everything fun!

 If we could only teach her to stop splashing in the water...

My Snuggle Bug

I have to do a little bragging on my snuggle bug.

 

He occasionally gets a bad rap because he's a little head strong and likes to do things in his own time. He really can't help it...it's in his genes...from the Felix side of the family. Ha!

He loves to play and has a great imagination. He usually dumps out everything in his closet and then decides what to play with. 

 

He loves to play with animals, super heroes, and the Toy Story characters.

But the thing he loves to do the most is snuggle up in a chair and read a book. He has turned into a wonderful reader right before my very eyes. At the age of two, he memorized every book he could get his hands on...Dr. Seuss was his favorite. Now he is reading on his own. I no longer get to read books to him, he insists on reading books to me...and I love it!

Over the Top Cute!

Some days the cuteness is just too much to handle and we have to stop for a quick photo.

Check out her first pair of boots...

Seriously...have you ever seen a cuter little sister?

Enjoying the Last Days of Summer

It seems like we have been either traveling or running from activity to activity since we have been home from China. This was our first weekend in a long time we have had nothing to do...and it was so nice! On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at the park near our house. Luckily, we had the whole park to ourselves.

Jackson and his friend Aidan spent most of their time "rip-sticking" around the park. They are getting pretty good and are now starting to do tricks.

He normally wears a helmet, but I couldn't get a good picture of his face so I had him take it off for this one photo.

I spent a lot of time chasing Benjamin around the playground. He has now decided he doesn't like to have his picture taken. So, I had to catch him when he wasn't expecting it.

Lillian showed off her acrobatic skills at the park. She is so funny!

She loves to play on the blanket in the park...but doesn't like the grass.

Lillian spent a lot of time walking along the park bench. If only she would get brave enough to let go...

Our Last Camping Trip of the Season {and the Bear that Ate My Steak}

We spent Labor Day Weekend at Ruedi Reservoir. This is our second year finishing off the camping season at Ruedi...I think it will be a tradition from now on. The reservoir is beautiful and surrounded by mountains and thick forest.

 
The photo below is of the campground. Our camper is hidden behind the large blue spruce trees.

The first night we were at Ruedi, our friend Sarah hosted dinner and made everyone steak. The steak was so good. I had only eaten half my steak, when I went to check on Benjamin...and never got another bite. A baby bear came out of the trees and ate my steak! I have to admit...I was pretty freaked out.

The camp host and a forest ranger came and scared away the bear with a fog horn and pepper spray. They assured us the bear wouldn't be back...yeah, right! A few hours later, the bear came back and ate our friend Stephanie's spaghetti dinner.

The next morning, Lillian woke up bright and early around 6:00am. I opened up the blinds and noticed a small black creature darting in and out of the trees. Oh, yes...the bear was back. I watched him eat jello shots out of the neighboring campsite! Eventually, the department of wildlife sent someone to catch the bear. Here are some photos of the bear hiding in the tree near our camper.

I have to admit...he's a pretty cute little bear. Unfortunately, I think the bear has eaten his last steak dinner. Poor little guy!

The rest of the weekend wasn't quite as exciting, but we still had lots of fun. Big Daddy rented a paddle board and all the kids had a great time learning how to use it.

Our neighbors brought their boat and we had fun tubing and wake boarding. Big Daddy is itching for a boat. We will see what next summer brings.

 A few of the kids in our camping group...

Benjamin spent most of his time splashing in the water and playing in the mud. He was covered from head to toe.

 Lily spent her time practicing her walking. Can you see her cute little Teva sandles? She could walk any day now...just has to get brave enough to let go.

I can't wait til next May...

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school for Jackson and Benjamin. Considering both boys have spent the summer sleeping in, I was impressed with how easily they got up...first day excitement, I'm sure! We only live a block from Jackson's school, so we walk on most days. We bought a new stroller to accommodate Benjamin and Lillian on our walks to school...nicknamed "the train". We loaded Benjamin and Lillian into "the train" and headed to Jackson's school.

Lillian's not use to so much excitement so early in the morning. She's not quite sure what to think...probably wondering if she's still going to get breakfast.

Here are a few photos of Jackson on his first day of 5th grade. He wasn't thrilled about getting his photo taken, but he allowed me to take two.

After returning home from Jackson's school, we ate breakfast and then headed to Benjamin's school. Benjamin attends school at our church three days a week and is in the "Raccoon" room. He was so excited to go and meet his teacher.

Benjamin had a great time at school and loved playing with the kids...so much so that he needed a catnap on the way home!