September flew by!

And the mosquitoes flew in (with a vengeance)!  Boston was ready to lose his mind with the itching.  The skeeters here in Texas are nothing I've experienced.  They're tiny and unsuspecting and swarm.  I've been told they are the Texas state bird.

Football is in full gear for the twins.  They play on the 7th grade junior high A team.  I was all worked up for some serious Texas football but have found it doesn't even compare to our Green Valley (Henderson) team - the intensity, the talent, the involvement, the coaching - taking a step back here for sure.  The twins seem to be having fun so that's what I try to focus on (and what Eric is struggling to focus on too).

Mustang blue looks good on Kennedy.  She joined the cross country team and has jumped in with both feet, literally. She gets up at 4:45 am to get ready for seminary (which starts at 5:45) then at 6:35 she heads to the high school for cross country and showers in the school locker room to be ready for school at 8:33.  Early, busy, productive morning for her.  By the time I pick her up at 4 pm, she's ready to call it a day.

Jackson and Leighton also rock the mustang blue (previously known as cougar blue).  Leighton is slightly taller than Jackson with a 1/2 inch difference.

Eric I went to our first cross country meet last weekend.  What a fun, energetic environment!  Everyone is cheering on their teammates along the way and pushing for their best PR (personal record).  The great thing about cross country is that you're basically running against yourself, trying to improve each time.  This works great for Kennedy.  The team also gets together every Thursday at some one's house and enjoys a pasta dinner and a little hang out time.  It's been surprising how much Kennedy likes it.  Yeah!

Leighton participated in "Patriotic Half-time" at the high school football game Friday night.  He was all business during the performance and sang his heart out. Jackson opted out of this one but when he sings at choir performances like Leighton, he really gets into it.  They're fun to watch.  The half time show was big time and lasted about half an hour.  Texas loves their Wranglerettes (drill team) and band and color guard.  Band in Friendswood is tougher than sports.  Very time consuming.

Costco is a 45 minute drive from our house.  I've only been there twice since we moved here.  "But when I shop there, I like to drop at least $500," said no one ever.  That cart represents $500 and it will maybe get us through one week.  #timetosellakidney

One morning while jogging, Laura snapped this amazing picture.  It's a great way to end the post for September which included lots of rain, humidity, and heat.  This rainbow gives me hope for fall and cooler temperatures and all things pumpkin.  Welcome October:)

Turning 9 is Mighty Fine!

Boston's birthday was a bit anti climactic when the actual day rolled around because he celebrated a month earlier in New York at Yankee Stadium with Eric and James.  The night before his actual birthday there were a few tears because he was feeling like "nobody cares about me."  I assured him he was loved and that we were going to have a great day with donuts at baseball practice and a family dinner of his choice plus a couple awesome gifts.  Expectations can get the best of us.

 He loves to take selfies (like all kids these days) and I let him selfie away.  There were a ton more but years from now, he'll look at these and laugh.

You can tell I took over the camera taking by now.  He loves to smile for the ladies.

 Months ago there was a special delivery dropped off at our house in Utah.  We were very patient and wanted to save it for his birthday.  One of our friends from Vegas was able to get a signed baseball from THE Bryce Harper!  The Varner family came through big time.  Sean and Liz Varner have a daughter named Kayla (who used to babysit for us) who is an awesome soccer player at Ohio State (used to play for BYU) and she is the girlfriend of Bryce.  Small world and a real treasure that Boston will cherish.

Leighton made Boston this bracelet and it was pretty sweet to see a moment of tenderness from Boston to Leighton for the gift.  Very thoughtful.

Boston picked Panda Express for his dinner and requested 3 servings of orange chicken - his favorite.  It was a fun but simple day for the birthday boy and we enjoyed being a part of it.  Happy Birthday to the biggest 9 year old we know!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

 School!

Some don't think it's all that great but I've always considered it a blessing and my kids do too.  We held our annual back to school appetizer party the Sunday before school started and invited the Thompson family to join in our chaos.  We also celebrated Seth's 10th birthday with cake and ice cream.  It was a win-win situation.

Laura's neighbors held a back to school get together in their culdesac and welcomed us too.  We hung out and ate hot dogs, treats and snow cones and raced each other on these bikes and on foot.  The boys (big and small) also had water gun fights.  It was a great night to visit and get to know everyone better.  I was worried my big kids might be a little too aggressive for the littles of this neighborhood but they did just fine.  

Monday morning came soon enough with the kids up and at 'em ready to face the new year.  Kennedy is 15 1/2 and starting her sophomore year.  This is her first real year of high school because of all the moving we've done.  She's a real trooper and has adjusted well to 5:45 am seminary.  Long are our mornings of sleeping in till noon.

Leighton is 12 and a true 7th grader.  This is his first year in junior high because of all the moving we'd done.  His only request for school shopping was some comfortable Sperry's.  He likes to dress a little classy.  When he saw his back pack (Jantzen khaki with brown leather trim) he said it "spoke to him."

Jackson of course is 12 as well and hitting the junior high as a 7th grader.  He is much more casual in his taste and personality.  He picked Vans and didn't want anything to do with golf shirts or button up shirts.  He's all about the comfort.

Quick/long story about the twins:  The junior high held a little program where students that were new to the district could tour the school and meet with their counselor before school started.  I decided to drop them off for this because they needed to figure out the lay of the land on their own.  If I was there, they would depend on me.  After the tour they were both sitting in the counselor's office.  Leighton was doing A LOT of talking and Jackson was sick and tired of it.  It was his turn.  He took matters into his own hands and slapped Leighton right in front of the counselor.

Jackson felt terrible when he came to the van and was pretty down on himself.  Leighton on the other hand, didn't even remember the incident by the time he got to the van.  He was already over it and excited for the classes he was going to be taking.

I called the counselor to apologize and give her a heads up about their personalities and she called back to tell me how much she loved the boys and that they seemed like normal boys to her.  She got a kick out of them.  She was vacillating on whether or not to put them in the same English class and the display of aggression/affection helped her  make that decision.  I guess there was even a mom watching the whole scene go down that was impressed with the way they apologized and hugged it out that she wanted her son in their class. Jackson and Leighton have such different personalities and really enjoy their time away from each other but when bedtime rolls around, they are best buddies:)

 Big Boston is 8 (almost 9) going on 16 and in 3rd grade.  The schools here in Friendswood are K-3, intermediate 4-5, jr high 6-8, and high school 9-12 which means 3rd graders are the big kids on campus.  Boston was a little nervous the first day so I drove him to school and picked him up but the 2nd day, he jumped on board the bus and now says it's fun.

William and Sammy are friends from the neighborhood.  William (far left) is Boston's age and Sammy is a1st grader.  Boston is by far the biggest kid at the school.

What have I been doing with all this free time?  I've been to Target a few times, taken a nap or two, made dinner for my family every night, scrubbed toilets, done loads of laundry, paid bills and taken care of paperwork I've been avoiding, been to lunch with some friends, and most importantly, getting caught up on my blog!  I am no longer a blog slacker.  (I am sure much more but just like when Eric asks me "what did you do all day?" I really can't remember.)

Cheers to School!