First Day of School!

The second first day of school!
This year Nathan started Kindergarten! It was pretty tough for me seeing my little guy get on that big'ole bus! But, he was so excited, it made me happy! Plus, it was a little easier knowing that Nathan's teaching is the same as Carter had last year.
Nathan all ready to go!


And, Carter starting 1st grade, he wouldn't get out of school until 3:40! He was super excited about being in school all day because it meant he would get to have lunch at school - and recess! lol
Carter's ready to go too!


Lylah thinks she gets to go too!






Bye Nathan! Have a great day! (Yes, I asked the bus driver to allow Nathan to sit with his big brother!)


Bye Carter! Have a great day too! (Yes, I asked Carter to keep an eye on his little brother!)


Bye bus. (sniff sniff)


So, like last year, we got in the van to drive to the school so we could watch the boys get off the bus. They release the Kindergarteners first. Nathan has just gotten off the bus (he's standing to the right of the fire hydrant, looking at the camera!)




"Where do I go?" (This brought tears to my eyes! My poor little guy must be so scared!)


Now, it's time for the 1st graders to get off the bus! It looks so chaotic, but it actually worked very quickly! Carter was happy to see some familiar faces of friends that ride his bus that were in his class last year. (He's standing with his back to the camera, next to the boy in the red hooded jacket.)




So, that was it. My boys were at school. I was anxious to see how I'd do having both boys gone in the morning. Nathan in AM Kindergarten, he has school until 11:30.
I couldn't wait until Nathan got off the bus later to see how his first day went!



Nathan was happy to see that Daddy took the day off of work so he could see the boys get on and off the bus on their first day!




After Nathan got off the bus we started walking back to the house, but Lylah did not want to come. She could not understand why the bus drove off and we weren't waiting for Carter!


She was seriously upset that Carter did not get off the bus! "But we have to wait for Carter!" I had to explain to her that Carter was going to get off the bus later with the other boys. It was adorable!


The afternoon went by sooo slowly! It seemed 4pm would not arrive quick enough! Finally though, it was time for Carter to get off the bus too! Lylah was happy to see her big brother!




Both boys said they had a great first day. It took Nathan a while to tell us a bunch of the stuff he did, but he finally did and he liked that he has two boys from his T-Ball team in his class!

At the end of the day, my second year of the first day of school did not go as badly as I had thought. Lylah and I have a good routine set in the mornings and enjoy our girl time! (well, us and the baby boy I watch!) Two more years and I'll be sending Lylah off to Kindergarten! I'm betting that'll be the worst first day of school! Well, either that or I'll be so happy to send her off that I'll be practially pushing her out the door! ;)

Playing catch-up! Gatrost/Swafford Reunion

*sigh* It's been too long, I know. My last blog update with pictures was more than a month ago. But, in my own defense, I've been busy. Get over it. ;)
So, this post includes some catch-up pictures!

From the Gatrost/Swafford family reunion in August.
I love going down to my Great Aunt and Uncle's house. It's beautiful and quiet. Quiet and beautiful.








The kids had fun playing in the creek.











I think Carter got some tastey creek water in his mouth!


"It's okay Nathan."


Carter is such a helpful big brother! <3


A craw-dad they caught. Don't worry, you know me.. it was released back into the creek within minutes! (poor thing must have been terrified trapped in the horrible blue cup!)


He's not waving, he's trying to not fall!


Nathan and Lylah admiring the red cup. (this picture was captured just before the fight for it began!)


Silly Lylah!








It was slipperly! I don't remember it being so slippery when I was young playing in it!


One last search for fish and craw-dads!

T-ball

It dawned on me last week as I was putting pictures from Lylah's bday on here that I never did a post on the boys' Tball this year!

Both Carter and Nathan decided- late- that they wanted to do Tball. Well, I can't place the blame all on them. We missed the regular sign-ups. Then when the late registration came around Carter said he didn't want to do it. And, Nathan said he wanted to do hip-hop, not Tball. But, once we got out the mitts and ball and started playing catch, Carter changed his mind. So, I was able to contact the director and do a late-late registration. On the way there, Nathan also decided he wanted to play because Carter was. So, lots of $$ later, they both were registered. I hate thinking about the outrageous fees involved- but the boys learn a lot of good things and have a blast. Plus, seeing the looks on their faces after a good hit or at the end of the season when they get their trophies, is worth every penny!

So, here are some pictures from this season!

Here's Carter warming up (and Lylah playing at 1st base!)


and posing for a picture during his first game


Nathan excited for his first game!




From the look of this picture he looks confused! (He's number 8 (the one scratching his head!)


Nathan




Carter making a play


Game face is on




Nathan making a hit


The big ole' helmet wouldn't stay on his little head while he was running the bases. And, he refused to wear the chin-strap! By the next game I convinced him to keep his cap on under his helmet so it'd fit better. =)



He was pitcher's helper hear. (I don't know how helpful he was though!)




Here, the assistant coach had to get after Nathan for playing around! That's my boy!


Oh- he actually went for the ball here!




More playing around








See how excited he is... just let the ball go right by him... lol



Different game- Nathan's teammate led him back to homeplate so he could tag the base!


Here are some pictures from Carter's team: The Cubs







The end of the season has come and gone and the boys both got trophies- which they are very proud of. This year they even got a baseball card book and some cards. They're of course excited for next year already. Nathan will be in the 6yo Tball and Carter will be in good ole baseball! He's a natural already, so make sure next spring you come out to see their games!