Happy Halloween

Pumpkin Carving!

I think Max and his bat signal won our pumpkin carving contest this year!

Batman and Tigger

Integrity

Last month the elementary school held an assembly and awarded those kids who had showed Integrity; that month's theme.  The award was given to those kids who were found being honest, showed fairness, cooperation, followed the directions, and did what was asked the first time.  Believe it or not -Max's teacher picked him to receive the award! We are so proud of him!  I am one proud Momma!

I was still in New York when the assembly took place :'( but Max had an incredibly proud Dad, sister, and Nana there to see and support him.

I didn't get any pictures of the event...so I 'borrowed' these from Michelle's blog. Thanks Michelle! Thank goodness Max was close to Kasen ;)

Panther Homecoming

Charlie's amazingly sweet cousin, Kadi Cooley, asked Max and his cousin Kinley to be the crown bearers for the Powell Panther Homecoming.  Max was so excited...we were a little nervous for him.  The last time he was asked to do something like this he got extremely nervous and posed as hulk for all the pictures.  We didn't live it down for quite a while! ;)

Anyway...he did great! He even found an orange and black tie.  He really wanted to look like a Panther. :)

He seriously looks like his Dad in this picture!!! OH MY HECK!

Max started to get a little nervous...he put his hands in his pockets and pulled out his pockets.  Charlie got him to calm down a bit and all was fine...I am crossing my fingers that isn't the picture in the paper!!!

Thanks Kadi! He had so much fun and it made him feel incredibly cool!

Our Summer...in a nutshell

Now that summer feels like a distant memory I had better write down it's events before they become long lost memories! 

I think we spent close to every weekend 4-wheeling up and down different paths in the Pryor Mountains.  It was so much fun, my kids loved every minute of it.

We took a few trips on our own, a few trips with some great friends, and quite a few with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins!!!

Look how dirty Max is...we were covered in dirt!

Papa John, Grandma Ro and Peanut (their dog)

We made a big trip up the mountain with this giant crew!

Hudson, Max and Kaysie eating Great Grandma's famous cookies!

Devin and Cari

Max, Hudson, Lincoln, Kaysie

Charlie skipped this trip ;)

There were many, many more trips and many, many great friends that joined us on our adventures...I am so sad that I didn't get pictures of them all!

The days we weren't cruising around the mountains we filled with swimming, parades, shopping trips and soccer.

Doesn't he look like he's having fun?



After a long day of shopping we needed a cold refreshment :)

If you ask Kaysie "What should we do today?"  Her reply is always, "SHOPPING!"   She loves it....I think that this particular day she met her match.  We went shopping in Red Lodge with my Grandma-who is the shopping queen.  My sister swears that my Grandma "even shops after she drops!"  Kaysie looks pretty exhausted in this picture!

First Day of Kindergarten!





Max was really excited to start school...right up until the day before school started.  He said to me, "I thought I was supposed to have long vacation?" 

Once he realized that he was going to be in school the next day and be there all day long, he got extremely nervous.  "I don't think I can do this."  "What if I get lost at school?"  "What if I don't know anybody?"  After reassuring him that everything would be fine, he calmed down a little. 

That night we had my wonderful Dad come over to help alleviate some of Max's fears.  He gave Max a 'school year' blessing, and later that night Max was laying in bed when the panic set in, again.  "Mom, I can't feel it working yet."  He knew that asking our Heavenly Father for help would make him feel better and laying there he realized he was still extremely nervous.  Max and I then discussed what we had asked Heavenly Father for in the blessing and that He would help Max...then Max said, "Yep, I can do this!"

He got up the next morning and was ready to go! He was super excited and he was even ready early!  For those of you that know Max you understand that being early was a huge feat in itself! ;)

Kaysie was making sure her Big Brother has everything he needs for school

After dropping Max off Kaysie cried for a good 20 minutes.  After the tears stopped she whined about needing Max until Sesame Street started, then she was okay for a little while.  We sure missed him while he was gone.  Charlie made a comment that my day must have been easier, just having one kid at home.  I don't think that was the case.  Max and Kaysie are close, he helps me with everything during the day...including the entertainment for his 2 year old sister! I really missed him, and I missed him even more when I realized it was a lot harder to get things done with Kaysie following me everywhere!  He is a great kid and an incredible Big Brother.  In fact when I told Kaysie that the two of us would get to be together all day she wailed, "NO!" Sure made me feel good. ;)

The End of the first day...Max and his great friend Easton

Thank goodness for great friends!  I know Max's extremely long day was made easier because he had great friends by his side.

Kaysie was so happy to see Max, she ran to him and gave him the biggest hug!



Max did great!  He loved his first day of school,  and his teacher was "awesome." ("but not as awesome as you mom!") 

I wanted to make his day a little better for him....I remember teaching little kiddos that weren't quite used to going to school all day, after lunch there would always be a few meltdowns...I thought by making Max something neat for lunch it would make him feel special and revive his spirits for the afternoon.  My awesome cousin-in-law found some great ideas for me, and here are my attempts.....

This was part of his lunch the first day...it's two Ferbs, from Phineas and Ferb

Day 2...Phineas





Talking with my kids

Here are a couple conversations I never want to forget.....

Me:  We should give Papa John some of the pictures we took today.
Max: Yeah, but not all of them I want to keep some.
Me:  We'll make some copies of the pictures for him.
Max: Okay....but have Uncle Jake make the copies.
Me: Huh?
Max:  Yeah, I heard he's a good copier guy.  :)

(My brother-in-law; Jacob, is a salesman that specializes in copier sales)


Charlie put Kaysie to bed the other night and after he checked on her one last time, convinced she was almost asleep, he came to bed.  A few hours passed and at about 11:30 I heard footsteps on the stairs.  I figured it was Max creeping up to tell me he had a bad dream and I told him to go back to bed.  He didn't say anything and I didn't hear anything else, so I assumed he went back to bed.  A little while later I heard more steps on the stairs.  I got up to see what he was doing and as I rounded the corner I was surprised at who was standing outside my doorway....it was Kaysie.  She looked up at me and said, "Max sleeping, shh."  That little turkey had snuck down the stairs and tried to get Max up. 


Max:  Can I have an apple?
Me:  We don't have any apples, do you want a plum?
Max:  What's a plum?
Me:  Well, it's kind of like an apple, but softer.
Max:  Soft, you say?
"Soft, you say????  Who talks like that?  My son is an 80 year old man trapped in a 5-year-old body!