Back to school 2015-16 and moving

Brecon is in second grade this year and will be in Mrs. Uhorchak's class. He got a new backpack with a handle and wheels that he is very excited about bringing back-and-forth to school. He has a few friends from previous classes that he knows. 

Connor will be in all day kindergarten with Mrs. Gurris. He is very excited and ready to learn.  This summer he really exploded in reading site words and being able to sound out different letters and words.

And then there is Cael in the six grade at the middle school. He seems very nervous, it's hard to get him to talk to anyone let alone his new teachers. Ahh--who am I kidding, that kid was introducing himself on the open house night and cracking jokes, telling the teachers that they need to earn six figures and a raise, that Summer vacation should be longer so the teachers can have more time off, etc.

That means I have three boys in school all day and my Cannon and Brielle at home to help me run errands and take care of the house. It has been a crazy and busy week so far, but we are beginning to settle into the new house and get into a more firm routine.

The week before school we had gone on our trip to Maine, and we had a few days to get ready with school starting on Monday. That would also be the same day we would be signing for our new house and moving over the rest of the week. I had no idea how I was going to be able to be helpful at all, with the new baby in my arms it was difficult to get half of the things done that I wanted to do. A huge blessing was my friend Miranda was staying with us while they waited for their apartment down in Manhattan. Her cute little boys were great entertainment for my boys and she really was a huge help.

Miranda was able to be over at the new house, only 10 minutes down the road, and tell the moving company where to place the boxes inside well I was stuck at the other house getting things ready and taking care of the baby. She also began unpacking the boxes and putting stuff away in places where they needed to go. My house was practically unpacked by the time I made it over by the next day. It was incredible and such a blessing to have her here. She told me the morning before she left how much this helps to realize the hand that Heavenly Father has in our lives. She wanted so badly to be in her apartment, but the time that she was able to help me with such a blessing. She said I must be doing something right, living righteously, to have Heavenly Father take care of both of us!

Camping in Maine

It was time for another adventure, Maine was on the list of places to go. This trip was different than any other travel trip we have done so far with the children because we would be camping in tents instead of staying in a hotel. I was a little nervous because the weather forecasted a downpour and colder weather for one of the days that we would be there. I kept trying to convince Ben that staying in a hotel would be better, but I was overruled when the voting occurred.

 The first couple of days were filled with sand and sun and lots of fun. The water was frigid cold, but that did not stop the kids from swimming, splashing, and playing around. At Reid state park the waves were quite large when the tide was out, and it was so much fun for the the kids to take turns on the bodyboards.

The morning before the rain was colder than the rest and our other friends arrived at our campsite bright and early ( at 5 am) after driving through the night.  They brought Dunkin' Donuts so we weren't too upset to get the day started that early.

It really was cold without any sunshine and the icy cold water. But again that did not stop the kids from getting in and splashing around until the rain started.

The family eating breakfast at our campsite. Most mornings it was oatmeal and hot chocolate-- easy to make and clean up. The great thing about going camping is Ben takes care of the food and the dishes everyday, it's pretty great, especially because I am feeding a little baby most of the time.

We decided to start a treasure hunt called geocaching, and so our first hike we went with the Dattage family. When we are together we call ourselves the Plattagges... So much fun with our good friends!

Cannon was such a good baby to be camping and sleep for most of the night for me. He would wake up around five ready to start the day and smiling so big. I could usually feed him and get him to sleep in until seven or eight. When everyone else would wake up.

Our last day was spent going to a farm and finding a lighthouse. We decided to see the most famous one and it was well worth the trip.

After a delicious Mexican dinner, we said goodbye to our friends and hit the road to make the five hour trip home while the kids were sleeping. Ben got us home safely after 1, only missing one exit ;-) I won't hold that against him. 

*Brielle had gotten sand in her swimming suit and so she wanted to wash off in the waves. The icy cold water elicited screams and noises of discomfort from my 3 year old lady. I was helping her splash water and try to wash away the sand the best that I could. I had my back facing the ocean when a huge wave came and pummeled both of us knocking her down and making her do a backflip under water. "She didn't like that none" and I couldn't help laugh at what had just happened. I convinced her to go back up to where the towels were so that she could dry off and warm up. While it was a lovely warm day, the water was icy north easternly cold. 

I then helped Brielle and got a few towels for her to lie down on so she could begin warming in the sun underneath them right before she fell asleep. We were not too far away from her when we saw several brazen, bold, and crazy sea gulls surrounding the area where Brielle was lying. A fierce peck from the biggest sea gulls right on Briel's leg woke her up, he must have thought she was a delicious snack hiding under the towel. The birds flew off and Brielle sleepily was rubbing her leg and whining as she fell back to sleep. A bruise, red and purple, are the evidence of that crazy bird. Poor Brielle!