First Day of School - Updated!

I thought it would be fun to show the progression of the boys over the years. Every year on the first day of school, I take their picture in front of the front door. I couldn't find every one of those pictures (but I will definitely dig through my stacks of photos to locate them all). But...I did want to post the 4 pics that I did find.

Edited to add: Yeah!! I found more pics of the first day of school. These were from waaay back and I had to scan them in. I'm still looking for the missing 4 pics - but I'm so happy nonetheless....

Here's Jack on his first day of Kindergarten. He looked so handsome!

Here's 1st grade. Now...what a charmer! Spiked hair and sunglasses. He still has those tall socks!

Now, this is sweet. Matt's first day of Pre K and Jack heading out the door to 2nd grade. Matt sure did have a lot of spiderman stuff!

Above is the day that Matt went to Kinder and Jack was in 3rd grade. I need to remind him of his "tall sock" phase. He wouldn't be caught dead in socks that went above the ankle now. Also...notice the progression of the door mats and the floor. I thought that was pretty interesting too.

Fast forward two years...here's Matt going into 2nd grade and Jack going into 5th grade. Jack didn't wear shorts that whole year - didn't like his legs showing. And that hair on both of them - so 1970s!
This picture shows Matt going into 5th grade and Jack going into 8th grade. I like to see how they compare to the top of the door. They are growing like weeds.

Our final picture was taken yesterday - the first day of school 2009! Matt's first day of middle school and Jack's first day of High School. Yes I cried the night before. I realized that the first day of kindergarten is nothing compared to this high school thing...and before I know it...4 years will go by and we'll be moving Jack into his UT dorm.

I love these boys! They make me so proud!

Before and After

I know...three posts in one day...but I'm really behind. The walls were painted today and I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to show a before and after shot of our family room. So...here tis. The walls are painted "Sand Dollar", the trim and doors are "Navajo White" and the tile is "Noce". I'm looking forward to moving the furniture back into this room. I'll post more pics later.

Grandma Bouzek Turns 92

Another reason I was in Alabama was to celebrate my Grandma Bouzek's 92nd birthday. My mom planned a fun little get together at the nursing home for her. My two brothers, their wives, the cousins, my two boys, my mom and step-dad, and my aunt and uncle from Missouri, were all there to see her blow out those candles. Grandma loves Bingo - so we went to the dollar store and got some really exciting prizes and we all played bingo together. It was totally fun. Friday night, Matt and I made her cake - it was a giant bingo card. She loved it! We ate pizza and cake and celebrated with style. Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

Space Camp and Aviation Challenge

As you know, the boys and I were out of town last week. Their Granddaddy & Grandmother Rodgers treated them to a week at Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, as a Christmas gift. And, it just so happens that my family (mom, step-dad, brothers and sister-in-laws, and grandma) all live in Huntsville - so I spent a week "kid-free" with my family. It was all in all a really incredible week and we are grateful to have been able to go. Matt chose Space Camp: Space & Robotics as his "mission" for the week. His robotic team, Jinx, won the overall trophy for their teamwork and robot's abilities. He was pretty excited. Jack chose Aviation Challenge where they learned how to fly fighter planes in simulators and created mission attacks and other "cool stuff". Both boys were assigned bunkhouses where they "slept" and then they had an assigned team that they spent their day with. Matt's team was the Pulleys and Jack was on the Intruders. It truly was a memorable experience for both of them. They learned a lot of different aspects about space and was able to participate in different astronaut activities. I really should let them post, shouldn't I? One of the pictures of Matt above is a special souvenier that he brought home - a giant bruise. He fell at space camp - oops! Matt really does bruise well.