first day of school

today both boys set off for their first day of school.  (logan's very first.)  with a heavy heart i loaded them in the car.  my littlest is not so little anymore. 

we saw brady's old teacher mrs. betsy in the hall.  he stopped at her classroom and was less than enthused when i told him he had to keep coming.  mrs. betsy was not his teacher this year.  we walked into his class and i could see anxiety all over his face.  i introduced him to his teachers and made a clean and quick break.  when i went back to check on him after dropping logan off he was attached to his new teacher mrs. angie sitting right next to her in circle time with a smile on his face.

dropping logan off was a little harder. (mostly harder for me.)  i took him in and he instantly found a little truck he liked.  he sat down and played with it and didn't seem to care where i was.  i walked out a little sad that he didn't seem to care that i was leaving him, but also relieved at the same time.  i walked out and looked through the one way glass (here is where i made the mistake.)  i watched him play for another minute and then it happened.  he looked up, looked around then stood up and looked around.  no mommy.  look of panic then tears.  my heart sank.  then his teacher ms. amy scooped him up and he instantly stopped crying.  mommy left for her first day of no kids for four hours.

when i picked them up both got good reports.  brady had an excellent day.  logan did well however would not look his teachers in the eye and spent most of the day looking at the floor.  ms. amy said that he really enjoyed the finger painting they did.  it was the best part of his day and he actually smiled.  she told me, " if i have to pull the finger paints out every day to make logan happy then that is what i will do."  i knew he found his right teacher for the year.  they are both in good hands.

sigh of relief for this mommy.

our last day at grandma and grandpas

so this picture has nothing to do with my post but it was too cool to not show you.  while we were here at grandma and grandpas we were lucky enough to see this baby humming bird twice by the pool.  (special thanks to aunt tracy for getting her camera and capturing this.)  he was so tiny i thought he was a moth at first.

we have been so fortunate to experience so many things here for the first time in this country like setting.  i want so badly to replicate this country feel at our home in suburbia.  thank you to grandma and grandpa for sharing their home and their hearts with us this week.  we will miss you until we see you again.

canning tomatoes

so we visited the farm to pick our vegetables and brought them home.  the tomatoes were so good that i had an idea.  why not go pick more and can them?  i got a whole bushel for $9.  bought my cans and yesterday started the job.  this process is new to me so...... i was slightly nervous.

brian helped me boiling the tomatoes and peeling the skins.  after a very hot afternoon in carleen's gourmet kitchen.  (canning when i get home won't be nearly as posh in my digs.)

i ended up with this

after worrying all night that i would wake up this morning and press on my lids and they would pop.  i will tell you we had success not a single popping lid!  yeah!  i only got through half of my bushel yesterday so today i will can the other half.  hopefully i will have some tasty tomatoes this fall for spaghetti sauces, salsa and more.

a day at the beach of an inland sea

today grandma and grandpa took us to the illinois state beach. the vastness of lake michigan is absolutely amazing. you feel like you are at the ocean, except the water temperature is slightly chillier than that of the gulf coast states. this pictures says it all.  need i say more?

our first farm experience

on the way home from thomas the train we saw this.

so we stopped.  the boys have never picked their own vegetables and we are in farm country.

pretty good deal.  much cheaper than the grocery store.

daddy was into it far more than anyone else. does that shock anyone?

this little guy picked this tomato and then proceeded to chomp his little teeth right into it.

we got home and had the tomato's last night.  i have to say they are by far the sweetest and yummiest i have ever had.  i should know i have been a tomato connoisseur my whole life.

a day at the illinois railway museum

today we went to the illinois railway museum.  grandma and grandpa treated us to a special day out with thomas the train.  the boys got tattoos, got to have their picture taken with sir topham hat and then we finished off the day with a ride on thomas.  we also....

hung out on some old trains too,

and then spent sometime being brothers and running down the tracks.

on our way home we made another special stop of which i will post about tomorrow.  even more fun than thomas (at least for mommy.) we got to pick our own vegetables at a farm......

the only time i will ever let my boys on one of these

at least while i have control of them......

an adorably cute little man on a very big snazzy bike and loving every minute of it. of course my knows no fear kid had no problem sitting on here even when it was fired up.

here we are with both boys enjoying a little rumble.  shortly there after my knows all kinds of fear child didn't want anything else to do with this bike.  yeah brady!  hope it stays that way.

we are off to grandpa and grandmas house for a week of fantastic food, rest and lots of splashing in the pool.