Preschool Circle

I'm freaking out a little. My baby is going to school. I was so worried he was going to have a hard time. All summer, and even just recently, when we mentioned that he would be going to preschool Sean would throw a fit. It didn't seem like it was something he wanted to do. He would just reply that he wanted to stay home with mommy. As nice as that thought is, it doesn't earn as many brownie points as actually being out of my hair.

But, as it turns out he likes it. He gets to wave to Mrs. Crater, play with the toys, and see his friends Jack and Lily. He actually wanted to know why he wasn't going to school on Wednesday and Thursday. I am so grateful for the turn around! I hope he keeps this attitude all year (but that is a lot to hope for).

Part of his preschool ritual is to use the preschool potty before going into class. Potty training has been grueling with Sean (as bad as it was with Chad) and so he is still working on not having accidents and we have yet to do a voluntary BM on the potty. So, it cracks me up that he is so insistent on using the potty at school. Which is a good thing!!!

Sean - ready for his first day of preschool.

Alec, Lily, Sean, Eli, and Jack hanging out together on the first day.

Sean and Adam getting walked out to their mommies.

Sean keeping himself busy!

I still can't get my mind around Sean being old enough for preschool. Being the youngest of my little bunch, he is still my smallest and least grown up - my baby. But when Chad was his age Chad seemed so old and so ready for preschool. It is amazing how perspective changes. What also really throws me is how everything has come full circle. When Chad was 3 and starting preschool, Halle was a 1 year old and Sean was just conceived and growing nicely in my tummy. So technically, Sean has been going to preschool for the past four years. So, when I first started going to preschool I always had three kids with me. When Halle started I only had two kids with me. And now, with Sean, he is the only one and the last one. When his turn is done at Ferris it will be a final farewell.

So, what have I been doing with my precious childless moments? Monday - had to attend the preschool meeting and fill out paperwork. Tuesday - caught up on phone calls, paper work, laundry, and anything else that needed getting done around the house so I didn't feel guilty about not having any kids to take care of. Friday - took a nap as I have been sick the rest of the week and am still trying to recuperate.

It has been a little lonely and totally weird driving my minivan around without a child restrained in a seat somewhere. It has also been very quiet - which I like a lot. It is also emotional - knowing that I am permanently phasing out of the baby stage and seeing my little group of kids growing and moving on. They can't wait for more growth and exploration of their world. I cling to every memory and hope they enjoy their childhood before it passes too quickly. I've never enjoyed being a mom more than this year - but there are also a lot of things I will miss as my life moves into the next season.

Going to the Fair

Sean loves his new clown friend.

For the past 5 years my kids and I have faithfully attended the Spokane County Fair. (Sometimes dad joins us and sometimes grandma and bompa come too.) Mostly I love to go because I enjoy watching the expressions on my children's faces more than anything. There is so much amazement and wonderment in their eyes as they look at all the rides and lights. Then there are the delightful squeals and laughter of looking at and trying to touch the animals.

It was a milestone year - as it was the first year we did not take a stroller! Everyone walked and there was no crying!!!! (We were our own show at the fair the first year we took Halle. She was just 3 1/2 months old and still crying all the time. Everywhere we went people would stare and wonder what we were going to do to stop the baby from crying. Of course what on lookers didn't know - is that there wasn't anything to do. Halle just cries - that is what she was good at - and there was nothing or nobody that could have prevented it.)

Halle is all smiles now. Proudly posing in front of the biggest pumpkin.

Bompa and Chad get their minds in motion at the science display.

Halle gets to pet a chicken.

The boys get fascinated with a pig.

Say "Moo!"

Posing by a long-horn cow.

Chad checks out the fire engine.

Grandma and Bompa takes the kids on a train ride.

It's tractor riding time. Chad uses his imagination to go on a great ride (and it was free!).

Halle chooses her tractor to ride.

Sean thinks he is ready to drive. Watch out - here he comes!

My other favorite memories of this event:

1) Chris teasing a mother long-horn cow and getting her to run and head-butt into the cage. That was pretty scary! It made us all jump. Chris thought it was fun and keep at it for a while.

2) Chris teaching Sean to sing the words, "Bacon, bacon, bacon," at all the pigs.

3) Sean getting almost literally scared to death. As we were walking through the cow barn, one of the boys who had a cow in a stall had set up a pretend spider to fly down from the ceiling. It came down right in front of Sean and made him jump right out of his skin. For the rest of the evening he only looked up - trying to prevent another spider attack from happening.

These are the moments I am glad I have kids. It wouldn't have been half as fun going to the fair without them. In fact - I would probably never go. So thank you Chad, Halle, and Sean (and yes, Chris) for making my life fun.

Cute! Cute! Cute!!!

Halle's most beloved and favorite cousin, Lindsey, came from Portland for a surprise visit a couple of weeks ago. She and Halle are like two peas in a pod!!!! They look alike and act alike and are completely inseperable when they are together.

Ding-dong. Who is at the door?

Surprise! It's Lindsey.

A big hug!

Grandma takes Lindsey, Aunt Arlia, and Halle out for ice-cream at the Coeur d'Alene Hotel.

Jeraldine took them both to Sears to have their pictures taken together. And all I can say is: Cute! Cute! Cute!!!

Last Day to Play, First Day of School.

To celebrate our last play day of the summer my family and I went to Riverfront Park on Labor Day. We had season passes to all the rides and fun at Riverfront Park. So we spent the day getting our last fill of dizzying fun.

Bumping around in the bumper boats.

And although it smelt delicious and was very tempting, we did not, "Pig Out in the Park." Had it been my choice - I would have sampled and sampled until I literally burst. But as it was my husband's choice - we did 5 hamburgers for $3.99 at Arctic Circle.

My kids were very excited for school. It is always fun to have new stuff!!! New backpacks, new pencils, new shoes, new clothes, etc. I had also hyped them up all summer about going to their new school (which is really a very old school), Adams.

Halle and Chad ready for the first day of school.

I had planned on driving them to school the first day. But they both insisted on taking the bus. After the bus finally arrived (at the new and more inconvenient bus stop) and the children were on board (9:05 am - and they still had to drive to the school) I quickly ran to my van and drove to the school as fast as I could in hopes of catching my kids off the bus.

Chad and Halle with their bus stop buddies.

I beat the bus, but by the time I found parking and then walked the half mile to the school my kids had already found their way to their classrooms inside the building.

I was still a little nervous about sending my kids to Adams. But after meeting with both of their teachers the Friday before and seeing how well organized they both were the first day of school I felt a little more comfortable. In fact each day I have been more and more impressed with Adams over Lincoln Heights.

Halle, absolutely thrilled to be in kindergarten!

Chad, sculpting his name from clay.

Now the busing is another story. As I already mentioned the bus was way late in picking up the kids for school the first day and the second day. Today it was only 5 minutes late and my children made it to school before everyone else had already lined up and gone in.

The first day Halle took the bus home, I was already nervous enough for her. But when she was an hour and a half late in getting home I was about in tears. The school kept reassuring me that she was on her way - but it sure took a long time. I was positive that she was probably crying and never wanting to take the bus or go to school again. But when she got off the bus she was as happy as could be. She was just so excited to go to school and have a bus ride!!!!

The irony of the busing story is that they changed our neighborhood's school boundaries to help save money in transportation costs in a domino effect with closing down Pratt Elementary. Well, the bus that brought Halle home is the Lincoln Heights Bus!!!!!!!! The bus comes all the way from Lincoln Heights (after collecting their children) to pick up Halle and then drops her off home and then takes the rest of the children home. Can you say Lame?! Stupid?! Does anyone in the transportation office have a brain?

And then today, after Chad's bus was 20 minutes late again in dropping him off home, my neighbor called to say that her son had forgot to go to express and would I please collect him from the bus stop, drive him back to the school, and check him into express. I was glad I could help out - but thought it was funny that here I had just waited 40 minutes for my son to come home and then I ended up driving back to the school anyway.

Last year I loved the bus. This year, I am not so sure yet.

I'm just glad my kids are enjoying school. It has been fun to have just Sean around with me in the mornings. But at the same time I can't wait for preschool to start! Don't try calling me or dropping by M,T, or F mornings! I will be savoring my peace and quiet!!!!! (Just kidding - I won't know what to do with myself!)

Sean keeping himself entertained during our 1 1/2 hour wait for Halle.

I never did end up getting a photo of either Chad or Halle getting on or off the bus. I was always so flustered and worried, that taking a picture was the last thing on my mind.

Sean Humor

Using anything to bribe Sean into using the potty I bought a bag of licorice. All day long Sean would keep asking me if he could have a "ticklish." (You bet I tickled him!)

Today he came up to me with a straight face and said, "Mommy, I have a cute bum." and then walked away. (Or did he turn around to show me his cute side?)

The Batman Party

Chad is my oldest child, but he has the last birthday month of the three kids. So by the time it is finally his birthday he is more than ready to celebrate. As seems to be our theme this year - Chad had an extended birthday. He had friend party the Saturday before (since we would be out of town the following Saturday), his nanny and uncle David came for a visit, and then he had his actual birthday date of August 23, 2007 to turn 7 years old.

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Happy Birthday Chad!!!!

What I love about Chad.

1. He has a sincere and sensitive heart.

2. I love the big dimple in his left cheek when he smiles.

3. He makes up his own interesting phrases that crack me up.

4. He doesn't like to give up.

5. He gets his big blue eyes from Chris' mom and my dad.

6. He is not afraid of bugs or snakes - in fact he loves them!!!!!! (And he catches all the spiders in our house for me!)

7. He has a talent at building/putting things together. Especially bionicles.

8. He puts up with being my guinea pig child.

9. He loves people and includes everyone as being one of his friends.

10. He has great confidence in himself. He knows when he is good at something and isn't afraid to tell you!

Caviness Reunion 2007 - Sun Lakes Resort

It has been a very busy and exciting summer (and lets not forget to mention full of drama too). We just got back from our (hopefully) last adventure of the summer - our annual Caviness reunion. This year it was held at Sun Lakes Resort just outside Coulee City. (And if you are like me - never heard of it or Coulee City before.) It was a beautiful resort and full of water-filled activities. It was nice to catch up with family and see how it has grown and changed. I have not been able to make a Caviness reunion the last three years (Sean was born, clashed with the Hansen reunion, and out of town).

View of the resort as you drive in. We stayed in a little cabin by the side of the lake.

We arrived Friday night - just in time for everyone to take a quick dip in the frigid swimming pool (except for me - I am deathly allergic to cold water! and being in a swimming suit!) We then had a great time at a huge potluck dinner and meet up with all the Caviness family.

Saturday started early for the Caviness clan. The golfing tournament started at 6 am. (Golfing is very serious business in the Caviness family!!!!!!!) The day started all too early for me. The kids were also up at 6 and ready for some fun. After making them stay in bed a little longer (although I don't know if it was worth the effort - I didn't get any extra sleep) I cooked breakfast (yes that is right I cooked breakfast - I do do that every once in a great while).


Luckily Grandma rounded up the kids and took them all on a walk. That gave me time to clean up without interference and lay down again for a 10 minute cat nap. When the kids came back they were ready for swimming suits and for a whole day of activities.



First on the agenda was Water Wars. A little built up area for major water balloon fights. There are two cages across from each other, each with two catapults in which you load your water balloons into and then fire away. We of course had the girl cousins (Halle and Lindsey) against the boy cousins (Chad, Sean, Justin and Jackson).

Lindsey and Halle on the girl's side. Lindsey was the only one big enough to really launch the balloons all the way to the other side.

The boys on their side. Sean gets help from Grandma to load up his balloon.

After using up three free buckets of balloons and buying four more buckets it was finally time for the water balloon fight to end. The kids could have done this all day!!!!! (Too bad our wallets couldn't.)

Next we went to the designated swimming area of the lake. It was pretty nice - except it was really rocky, so the kids didn't have too much fun walking around. Chad and Justin were brave enough to jump off of the dock. And Sean had fun trying to throw rocks when we weren't looking (he knew he wasn't supposed to do that).

After getting sore feet from the rocks we decided to head over to the pool. We had big hopes that the water wouldn't be so cold and would feel good after being in the hot sun. Well, it was still freezing cold - but the kids didn't seem to mind as long as they were having fun.

Kayla, Cindy (Chris' cousin), Justin, Lindsey, Sean, Chad, Grandma, Jackson, and Halle.

I was so grateful for life jackets and Grandma - that way I didn't have to go in with the kids.

After an exciting morning of being wet - I finally got the kids dried off, warm clothes on (to help the blue lips) and then got them all down for a nap. (You know you are old when all you look forward to in your day is laying down for a nap).

After napping Chris was home from golfing and took Chad out fishing with his brother Jeff and his kids. Chad came home with a brown paper bag. In it was the prize fish he was dying to show mom. My husband was also proud of the fish since it had been be-headed and gutted by him. I was going to take a picture of it - but by the time I located the camera someone had thrown away the discarded brown paper bag. (I wonder if they looked inside to see what was there before they threw it away?)

While Chris and Chad were away Sean and Halle and I played cards (Old Maid and Crazy 8's) and then went swimming again. (Those crazy kids!) Halle just couldn't get enough swimming in. She has been deprived all month long because of her picc. But luckily she had the picc removed just a couple of days before we left. She enjoyed showing me all her swimming tricks (with the aid of her life jacket) and also proudly showed me how she could put her face under water - something she didn't like doing until she took swimming lessons from Tyler Porter.

When it was time for dinner we again had a huge potluck - this time there were over 50 people in attendance. While we sat around and ate and talked the kids had fun just running around. Sean also observed some people playing a game where you toss metal rings into holes (any one know the name?). So Sean decided to join in too. It kept him quite busy (thank goodness!!!!).

Sean, trying to figure out how this game works.

That night the winds kicked up pretty fierce and howled all night long. The kids had such a long day that they actually slept in the following morning.

Sean and Chad still sleeping at 7:00 am. A very unusual occurrence.

Sunday morning meant it was time to go. After cleaning up the cabin and packing the van we stopped by for a group breakfast and group pictures (but I didn't put my camera amongst the 20 other cameras lined up - figured I could use someone else's picture as soon as they send it my way - so I don't have those pictures yet). Then it was time to go home. We stopped by a nice scenic view on the way home - just a few miles east of the resort we where at.

A pretty view.

My four kids, oh I mean my three kids and my husband, standing out on the ledge.

It was lots of fun. But I am also glad to be home. I am hoping for a little boring and normalcy around here for the next week. But all too soon school will have started up and then I will be missing that I can't go have fun with my kids when ever I want.