School has started!

Does this look like a kid who is ready for his first day of kindergarten? No! He loves it so far luckily. We just had a rough first week of getting out of bed (myself included!)

They all looked very good on their first day. The boys looked handsome in plaid, and Ave looked lovely in her news Star Wars scarf she had to have at Target!

My big boy is in 4th grade! I can't believe it.

My girl is in 2nd already.

My little man (who just couldn't look at me!) is now in kindergarten. He seems so small!

Our annual outside picture.

All 3 together. This might be my new favorite picture.

Day number 2. Right back asleep in the chair with his yogurt waiting for him. Miraculously, we haven't been late yet. Close though! I'm thinking I need to buy them all alarm clocks and umbrellas (it's been very rainy here!).

Ready to roll for Teague's first full day. The day before was just orientation.

Getting ready to go into their lines. Ave is a great big sister 95% of the time. She really looks after little Teagie. I love that about her.

She gets to be first in line because it's alphabetical.

She loves her teacher Ms. Vinecke. I'm glad she got her. Ms. Vinecke stopped me in the hall the other day to tell me how wonderful Ave is and how she relies on her for a lot of things. She is a very responsible girl. I'm glad she loves school. Carter has been having fun too. He really likes both the 4th grade teachers he has. I didn't get a picture of him because he lines up at the door on the other side of the school.

My little guy with his class. He knows a couple of kids from daycare, like Evan, who is in front of him. He tells me every day about new friends he meets, kids who got in trouble, who he sat by at lunch, etc... He has been a very good boy - a "shining star" according to the chart in the classroom.

The Stoddens had an impromptu get together on Friday. They invited us and some other neighborhood people over for S'Mores and of course, the kids had a giant Nerf war. They are great people.

Teague in the firelight. He sure is cute.

Carterman enjoying a S'More. He and Nate Stodden are in the same class this year for the first time since 1st grade. I'm glad. Nate is a good kid.

We have had some really pretty sunsets. Ave snapped this as we left Safeway the other night.

Teague's postcard that came in the mail. I love these things. I made sure to tell him how proud I was of him. I was worried about him. Preschool was never his favorite thing, but he is really liking kindergarten.

Dad got a diploma from 1980 the other day in the mail! He couldn't attend graduation at Western for some reason - Mom thinks he played in a softball tournament. They sent a letter that they were cleaning out some old boxes and found a bunch of diplomas. Way to go Dad! Ha ha!

Happy 36th Birthday Kyle! We had his presents ready for him to open Friday morning before he went to work. We got him a nice Tech shirt and some new shoes (which he had picked out.)

They are lovely purple and yellow LSU shoes. He's kind of depressed because they just fired their coach yesterday. However, these guys gave him lots of love, and he had a great birthday with chicken curry wraps and a tasty cake. We are lucky to have him!

I found Carter sending text messages to my Dad on my phone at volleyball practice. He is such a turkey. Most kids would love to hang out at a gym! He's been better lately. He and Ave found ping pong paddles to play with the other day.

Kyle and Carter started Little Guy Football. They have played two games now, and you can see each kid getting better. Kyle is doing a good job teaching them the right way to play and the right way to act. They are good kids.

That's my Carterman with the green sleeves. He is getting more aggressive and is having a lot of fun!

Teague's new way of writing his name. He explained to me what each letter was - The T was a Dracula, the first E is a tree, the A is a tower with a claw, the G is a haunted mansion, the U is an alien, and the last E is lightning. He is very creative! I have a feeling his teacher might break him of this habit soon. I'd imagine it takes awhile!

My little helper in the kitchen. We made gyros the other day. I had some leftover tomatoes from the garden, and we made tzatziki sauce with my garden cucumbers. She loves gyros. She helped mix the meat with all the spices. It was delicious. Tonight we are going to use some zucchini to make fritters. We even stuffed squash blossoms this year, and they were tasty! It's good to try new things!

Another Little Guy football game. Teague asked Papa to rub his ears to keep them warm.

He's a happy kid with his BelVita biscuits and mismatched gloves.

Carter came home after the game and showered. Then I took a walk with my goofy boys and Laney. Teague wore Ave's feathery scarf and pretended it was a snake! The leaves around here are changing, and we love it.

I went with Papa, Ave, and Teague to Helena for a Costco trip on Saturday. Grandma was scrapbooking hundreds of beautiful pages all weekend. Teague all of a sudden had to throw up. He picked a pretty spot to do it! I think he didn't chew his mac n cheese. He seemed fine afterwards and ate many Costco samples!

I took a few pictures from the car of the pretty birch trees. We decided we were going to have to take a hike Sunday and check all the scenery out.

The boys walked with Kyle in the morning, and Teague played outside almost the whole day. We watched the Redskins finally win, and then Papa, Ave, and I drove up to Thompson Park to hike up to the Continental Divide Vista. We are the three that just feel like we need to be outside sometimes! Ave found this nice rainbow tree.

She loves to hike. She talks nonstop and points out anything cool she sees (many squirrel, different color leaves, oddly shaped trees, etc...).

We made it!

It's a very pretty view.

Ave snacked on some Fig Newtons when we reached the top.

Two explorers checking out the scene.

We took a selfie, something I do maybe twice a year.

As we headed down, 6 quail (I think) crossed our path. They were not scared of us in the slightest bit.

This one almost seemed like it was posing for me. It doesn't seem to me like they would be very hard to hunt, although I will admit I have no idea about anything when it comes to hunting.

This Vista was a good hike, but it was all pine trees. We stopped at Roosevelt Drive to look at all the changing leaves.

Papa got a new hip and apparently thinks he should climb embankments now. They both made it luckily, and I followed.

This is her new nature pose I guess! Ha ha ha!

I love fall.

Me and my girl. She's always ready for an adventure.

One more of her poses. Zoom in on her face for a good laugh!

Papa took this one up at the Vista. I almost forgot. We had a great day. Hope all is well with everyone else. I will try to be better at posting. It's just a busy time of year.

Last day of freedom!

It's the last day before school! I can't believe it. Anyway, this picture pretty much shows their personalities - all weird, but pretty happy.

We took the volleyball team for a hike up to the Mount Con for a change of pace. Here is Carter giving Katrina some of his coaching strategies.

We made it to the Granite Mountain. That place is so amazing and sad.

The views from the picnic area are pretty great.

These two were having a great time trying to recognize buildings.

Two boys taking a little rest.

We found a little playground off the trail. We spent a good three hours up there all together.

My monkey child.

Ave and Kyle had a cuddly morning together one Sunday.

Laney joined in. Those three look very comfortable in my blanket.

Time to make some salsa. It wasn't the best year in the garden, but the tomatoes (especially the golden cherry tomatoes) and the jalapenos did well!

One last 80 degree day! Time to hit the Splash Pad. Teague all of a sudden decided to be brave too!

He's not quite there yet. He watched Carter and Ave get soaked a few times first.

Here it comes!

He was a dancing fool that day. I loved it!

There we go! The first time it got him, his shorts almost fell down. This time he was prepared!

Carter really loved it this year.

My Carterman is starting little guy football this year. Kyle is coaching. I hope he has a blast. So far their practices have gone well. He has lots of friends from school on the team. Watching him try and get this equipment on and off was pretty hilarious!

Dad and I had a vegetable day. We baked some cabbage with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I also made eggplant and zucchini parmesan fries. Quite delicious! The spaghetti squash is being eaten tonight.

We've been trying to have some fun final days before school. We went to the Y last week to burn off some energy. They swam and swam.

I can't ever get all of them to look at me at the same time anymore.

Carter realized he was easily tall enough for the slide. He loved it!

Yesterday I persuaded Kyle to go to Bozeman. We hit Wheat Montana in Three Forks up for a "little" snack. Carter quite enjoyed a bit of a caramel roll!

We made a trip to the Museum of the Rockies first. We hadn't been there all summer. They always love it and are truly fascinated by the fossils.

First we got a nice overhead view.

Avery reads every sign. She wants to know exactly what happened to each dinosaur.

The interactive screens were working finally. Teague and Ave enjoyed this little game. Kyle looks pretty happy too!

Carter and I put the dinosaurs where they were found in Montana.

Teague really liked the Mosasaurus fossil. It was his favorite marine reptile from Jurassic World!

Three kids and the biggest T Rex skeleton ever found!

It really is an amazing place. Look at those T.Rex teeth!

They liked the video showing how birds are living dinosaurs.

I had to get a close-up. Ave asked if Grandma T. Rexes have even shorter arms. Ha ha ha!

The travelling exhibit this year was about the Villas of Oplontis near Pompeii. It was 8km from Mount Vesuvius. It was rumored to be the summer villa of Nero's 2nd wife. About 45 bodies were preserved there under the ash along with many artifacts. Here are some of the original frescos along with a reenactment of how the private room would have looked. It really was amazing.

This is where the wine merchant sold his merchandise.

One skeleton must have been a wealthy woman. She had 29 different coins with her along with the most expensive jewelry they have found there.

Here is some of the jewelry found. The workmanship of everything was amazing. Everything has little intricate carvings of Roman gods.

The entrance to the villa had two matching busts of Hercules.

My kids thought it was really cool that this statue was named Nike. Now they know that she was the Goddess of Victory.

Time to build their own column

Oh yeah, looking good.

Taking a rest in the bench room.

They always love the Yellowstone exhibit, especially making the geysers blow.

Teagle and his eagle.

Two eagles!

Doing a little fishing. Judging by her face, Ave has a big one on the line!

He kept trying to fly fish. He's dangerous.

Lastly a trip to Target for more clothes and then some Olive Garden. I hope they are ready for school tomorrow!