Pix of a 5 year old Byron

(Oops...this was sitting in drafts and I forgot to finish and post it!)

Byron is 5!!




Here he is when he was a baby! What a cutie!

Interests: Byron LOVES hot wheels! He would be perfectly happy if each and every present he received was a hot wheels car! He and his brothers keep track of each one....they'll be busy looking and looking "you know, Mom, for that one we bought at Longs when it was winter time"....ah, yes, as if I'd know! He is also big on doing his "homework"...he wants to be ready for school, you know! He found Jared's word ring from kindergarten, and has been learning words...then he goes and finds some paper to write..."Mom, should I do my upper case or lower case letters? Maybe I should write my numbers today."...then he colors...and this is all self-motivated. Chloe of course is a big part of his life. He is always greeting her w/ "HI, Sweeeetieee!" Baseball is his other love. He's been out in the backyard hitting pitched balls for a couple of years now, just WAITING for his turn at T-ball!

Personality:He is a little shy, and gets embarrassed easily, but he warms up quickly. He's also very driven....the very motivated type....if his brothers can do it, he can do it better. Even if he is so mad and frustrated that he cannot do something, he just won't stop! He is also extremely independent.

Stats:
Height: 48 1/2"
Weight: 53 lbs.
Shoe size: 2
Clothing size: 7

And now begins the countdown for Kindergarten!

Roses

From the 4 sweet men in my life......

Shoes!

One thing about the first day of school! It means new shoes! And since Bigfoot and I are related, I don't always get to indulge my love of new shoes! But I sure do love to buy new school shoes for the boys! They were all thrilled when I brought these home the other day! By tonight, they won't look quite so clean!

Jared, size 5

Byron, size 2

Trent, size 10 1/2

Kindergarten, here we come!

Byron's first day of kindergarten went off without a hitch! He was up bright and early, and was so excited! Yesterday at "meet the teacher" day he was very nervous, but it was so good to have that day, b/c today he was ready to go! He knew what to expect and couldn't wait! When we left, he just gave a big smile and was ready to go!

This is the best teacher he could possibly have! We were so thrilled to get her. The other 2 boys had her as well, and we were HOPING we'd get lucky enough....and w/ 5 kindergarten classes, we were a little worried!
Lining up to go in.....
This is a buddy of his, Tanner. His older brother is in Jared's grade. The 4 kids have play dates together sometimes. They are a really nice family.

After school, he was tuckered out! He lay on the couch, ate some goldfish, and relaxed! But he had a very lazy, happy smile!

First day of school!!!!

The summer has flown by! And now we have a big kindergartener...............
a big 3rd grader.........
and an upper classman...a big 6th grader!

The morning went well. All 3 boys were up and "at 'em" bright and early, so we had lots of down time before we had to leave at 7:30. I wonder how long THAT will last! :)

Gimme a break!

So, Byron decided to break his arm on Friday night! He and the cousins were playing, and he fell....and he really favored his arm. That night he even cried out some in his sleep, and when, in the morning, he was still favoring it, we decided to take him in. The X-rays did not show a definitive break, but fluid around the elbow, so the urgent care doc thought it was broken. He told me to keep him in a sling for 2 weeks. Uh...a 5 year old in a sling? It was usually around his shoulder, not down on his arm....certainly not keeping it immobile! We went to the pediatrician on Monday, and she said that elbows are tricky, so it's not up to her to decide if it is broken or if it is soft tissue damage, so she splinted his arm (yeah! at least now it's protected!) and put in a referral for the ortho doc.....that office called today and we have a Thursday appt. so we'll find out then if he's good to go or if he needs to be casted!

Roy and Wendy were here!

Roy and Wendy went on a cruise, and on their way home, stopped in for "overnight"....just a quick stop. We were so glad that we'd get to see them, even if only for a few hours! The next morning, we said our good-byes......and about an hour later the phone rang. It was Roy! They had car problems! Their car had died on them several times and now they needed a tow! We were so glad that it happened nearby, so they could hang out here! The dealer got the problem diagnosed too late to get the parts on Saturday, and of course they were closed on Sunday! So Robert and Roy got up early on Monday, went and bought the parts, and

took them to the dealer so they wouldn't have to wait for the dealer to get them. They had their car back in running condition that morning.....so their little overnight visit lasted 3 nights. And we were thrilled to see them and have them, in spite of the circumstances!

Skateboarding, etc....

Jared got a skateboard for his birthday. I love to watch his face when he is trying to ride. His daddy always sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating on anything....like father, like son!


Oops....even big boys wipe out! Unfortunately it bent up his new bike, and now Robert has to take it apart to unbend it so it will be rideable again!

It's a STRIKE!

The kids have been spending a lot of time bowling this summer. Thru the school, they received passes for a free game w/ free shoe rental included every day of summer! It is a very family oriented bowling center near our house. Lots of kids, moms, grandmas....well, you get the picture. It's been fun!





A little silliness always helps!








That's one big smile right after a strike!







These are our shoes....the kids' are the rentals, and mine are brand spankin' new. Robert found some on-line for $14.98.....so less than 4 games, and they've paid for themselves! And since they are purple, no boys are going to borrow them!

A Day on the Lake

We went boating on Saturday. We got up early and went to a big lake about 1 1/2 hours away from us. The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time.

Byron doesn't like to tube yet (he just hasn't gotten brave enough) so he spends almost all his time on the boat...and his 3 favorite things to do are.....eat, chew on ice, and sleep! He was always asking for snacks (I always said yes!), and then we looked over and he had the lid off the cooler and was thoroughly enjoying chewing on ice...never mind that sometimes the big chunk of ice he was chewing on would slip out and back into the cooler!
And as always,he tuckered out by the end of the day and fell asleep...this time face down in the bow!

Trent and Jared love to be on the tube. Robert and I each had to take a ride, too, of course!

Trent did end up w/ a shiner. He was trying to water ski and took a tumble....and the ski as it came back down hit him right in the eye! I think next time he'll probably have success skiing....this time he was able to get up nearly every time, but just couldn't keep in the upright position!! So once he gets his balance, I think he'll be good to go!

I love the way that Jared tubes.... a lot of time his head is way down, and those arms are hanging over in that awkward position.. I tell him he looks like a spider in there because it looks like big spider legs coming out! Sometimes he totally tucks in so that you can't even see him...then he pops out...it is so cute.
It just didn't seem right w/o Lauren and Sandy there! We missed them!


What a big smile....

We thought this was a neat bridge. The kids liked going underneath it!

This was the little cove we stopped and swam in. There were no boats around, so we just parked it in the middle, jumped out and swam for quite awhile...took Byron a bit to get brave enough, knowing it was deep, but soon he joined in. We had our own private little lake!

A Visit from Bill and Chris

Today we had a visit from some old friends of ours....Bill and Chris....we knew them from college days. They are on a big trip and happened to be passing thru town. We know how hard it can be when you are "flying" thru somewhere to take the time to stop and visit....so we really appreciated and enjoyed it! The kids had a ball for the little while they were here!

Guitar lessons

Jared asked me to add these pictures! When we were at Kelvin and Leila's, Kelvin got out his guitar and accompanied Jared on the piano. Then he very graciously gave Jared a lesson and let him play to his heart's content! Jared was enthralled. He's been asking for lessons for a long time...we've told him after he takes more piano lessons (which he does love) and gets a better understanding of music, then we'll let him get a guitar. He definitely loves music!!

The End of Time According to Byron

Well, Jared was telling Byron today about the time when Jesus comes back....and Jared said "Our bodies will rise up out of the graves and go meet Jesus in the clouds"...and Byron said w/ an incredulous look...."WHAT? You mean without our heads?????"

Which reminds me of another Byron story. He's been talking quite a bit about Jesus dying in the clouds and then God will destroy the earth (OK, so he's got some of his stories crossed), and so one day, he and I went on a walk. He kept picking up progressively larger rocks, till it was quite a big rock he was toting around. He kept trying to throw it higher and higher and suddenly he stopped, looked up, and said, "I'd better be careful, because if I throw it into the clouds, I might hit Jesus, and then Jesus would say "What? Who hit me w/ a rock? And I'd have to say Whoops, sorry Jesus!" Anyway, kids are so funny in their perception of things. We were just talking yesterday how funny it is that he still thinks heaven is the mortuary "because that's where people go when they die".... When I told him there is no sadness in heaven, he looked at me like I was crazy, and said "What? Mom, at heaven at the funeral home EVERYBODY is crying!" Yes, in a kid's mind, that IS where you go when you die!

Byron's five!

I cannot believe it! Our youngest is five!!! He wanted to go to a buffet for dinner, so we did...Lauren and Sandy met us there. Mel and Dalene couldn't come then, but were able to join us later at our house for cake and ice cream. The kids had a great time. All day, Byron kept saying he was four! You see, it's not official until you blow out the candles!




The kids all dressed up in very odd combinations of costumes afterwards! They had so much fun!