FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS OVER!

Where did the day go? Everything went great today with Calli and Colson starting school and both were VERY excited to get up and get going. No whining about brushing hair, no getting sidetracked on what they want for breakfast, no pleas to sleep a few more minutes....aaahhh it was nice.

As customary, we took pictures by the front door so we can look back over the years and see how they've grown in comparison to the door that never changes. Calli was eager and willing.

Colson really just wanted this part over because he wanted to get to school. Why do we have to mess with some silly picture?!?!

No problems with Calli as we dropped her off. Her classroom was unusually quiet. Mrs. Cooper and I both felt confident that a week from now, it would not be that quiet.

Colson was very anxious while we were at Calli's school because he DID NOT want to be late to his school. As we pulled in the parking lot 10 minutes early he was annoyed that we had to sit in the car until 9 am. Why? Because he wanted to be the first one in the classroom so he could play the computer.

We headed in with a slight detour to the PDS school sign, another picture tradition in the Schubert family. Again, he was not in the mood for pictures. Then when he got inside he immediately got busy exploring all of the new toys. I wanted a picture with his teacher and he told me it wouldn't work because he was already trying to play this.

If you know my motto (If you're dirty, that just means you had fun) than you can conclude the kind of day that Colson had.

Not sure if you can see all the sand and grit on his face in this picture, but it is there!

Calli's was fun as well with a lighter load of laundry to follow.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS

As I sit here in my chair everything is nice and quiet and I'm enjoying this down time before a new school year begins where things can get crazy. Homework starts, early mornings, activities, tired kids, lots of car rider lines and lots of driving. But don't get me wrong.....I AM READY! We've had a great summer and now it's time to place them in the hands of people that can teach them those important foundational....things because they certainly won't be national merit scholars hanging out with me (I can't even think of a better word than things).

Calli again will have another GREAT year as we start 3RD grade with Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Toupes (pronounced Toops). It's such an amazing feeling to be able to leave Calli everyday in such capable hands and not worry about her. Both of these teachers are Christian women with lots of experience. They are gentle, fun, caring and nurturing...I can't even claim all of those characteristic. So far, we've had an INCREDIBLE 1st and 2nd grade year and I know we'll be in for a treat this year as well.

Colson will start Pre-K this year at Presbyterian Day School where he has been since he was 2 and where Calli went also. I LOVE THIS SCHOOL!!! He has a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Jeanne and Colson is very excited. We went to Pre-K orientation today and saw all his buddies. Within 20 minutes of playing outside he was COVERED in sand from head to toe beyond what I thought was humanly possible AND he had found a lizard. He started right where he left off when we left that place last May. My motto is, if you are dirty, that just shows me you've had fun at school!

So, tomorrow will be a really nice day. Of course I have several errands I have to run as I've been holding them for a week when I knew I would have no kids....oh my goodness it's so much easier with no kids...and cheaper! I can't believe they have gotten so big and it brings me joy to watch them do so well in any situation. I am blessed!

SO LONG SUMMER....

ONE LAST HOORAH!

Our days our limited of late nights, sleeping in, no homework and on and on. So, we ended our summer with one last Adventure Day bang! We headed to Houston to paint pottery. It has been a long time since I/we have done this. I don't know if Colson ever has and I wasn't sure he would last but he did quite well. I am not sure he felt up to par which worked in our advantage because he was content with sitting and taking it easy to paint.

Colson painted an airplane piggy bank and a fish statue or as he called it a catfish. I let him have two because he finished his plane before the rest of us and I decided to spend the money in a piece we could take home instead of a piece that was broken because he was bored and going around touching everything. Thankfully the later never happened.

Calli painted a turtle box and was very into choosing colors that would look good and trying her best to paint in the lines. Calli even had a friend come with her and a good time was had by all. I even got to participate and made a chip and dip bowl which I will probably never use because these things never turn out like I want them to.

So, we wind down a LONG summer these next few days and it's back to school Wednesday! Hooray!!! (Did I say that?!?!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA-YESTERDAY

I had every intention of getting to this yesterday and I woke up this morning and thought...Oh my goodness, I forgot! Not that I forgot my sister's birthday, thankfully I didn't have to write that down to remember like I do everything else. But I should have written down to blog about her birthday and this wouldn't have been late. Anyways, my sister turned.....um let me do the math....I think she turned 26....yesterday!!! And as I like to say, Happy Birthday to my FAVORITE sister! Never mind that she is my only sister, she'd still be my favorite even if I had more I am sure!

People say that we look SO much alike although I've been told by more than one person, that I have a bigger head (I am hoping they mean because my hair is thicker and therefore bigger) but I really don't press the issue because I am not sure I want to know. So, we look alike yet there are many ways that we are very different internally. So here are the top things that I think my sister and I differ and ways in which I wish I could be more like her.

1. Christina is more sensitive than I am. This is a good thing because she is actually kinder and more tenderhearted than I. I am sure this will play off well as she is transistioning into this motherhood stage.

2. Christina is very smart and committed to learning! That is an awesome characteristic to have at 15, 26, 50 or whatever age you are. Take note, I am not saying that I am not smart but she takes pride in learning and accelling in this area.

3. Christina is very money wise. She doesn't need to spend money on things she really doesn't need. I wish I could be more like that.

4. Christina is very affectionate. She likes to hug, cuddle (good wife attribute), etc. This is a lovable charastic that comes naturally to her.

5. Christina can be still and relax. Not that she doesn't like to go and do but the point is she is content with taking it easy. This is also a great motherly characteristic to have.

The saying always goes something like you can pick your friends but you can't pick your relatives. I can proudly say that if I did have the chance to pick a sister, I would have picked her. She's an awesome sister and has been for the last 26 years. I loved her as a tiny baby, watched her grow up into a mature, respectable teenager and then carry that into her college and adult years as well. I am so proud of all she has accomplished and am blessed to have her in my life and living so close. She's an awesome aunt to Calli and Colson too! It's even better that Scott (her husband) and Wes are great friends so I know there will be many years ahead of family fun times!

I love you Stina! Hope you had a great day!

Here are some pictures from our birthday celebration that we had last weekend for my mom, Chistina and Scott all with birthdays within 1 week of each other.

MY CALLI IS A SHOPPER!

Sometime last week the kids and I had some free time and I thought I would take them out to get some shoes for school. So, off we head to Kohl's where they were having a sale (as always). So, we get to the kids shoe section and spent what seemed like an eternity trying on shoes. Had it been just Calli and I, it would have been fine. But Colson was in the mix and he is NOT a good shopper. So, needless to say, my patience was being tried as I tried to find him a pair of shoes that would be acceptable for school and he wanted ALL my attention. By the time I got over to Calli to help her she had found a pair that she REALLY liked but couldn't find them in her size. So, mom to the rescue....my eyes went straight to them, she tries them on, they fit (YEA!) and I say okay let's go! I was at that point where I really wanted to leave the store and was so close to two successful purchases I reallly didn't care about the price but knew I should! I hate spending a lot of money on kids shoes. I honestly didn't even look at the price but my Calli did. She stops me as I'm headed out of the section and says

Calli: "Mom, these are $45 are they one sale?"

Mom: "Oh, I am sure they are" (in my head I'm thinking I really don't care but I don't want her to know that as that would go against every bargain shopping tactic I have taught her)

Calli: "Wait mom, I really think we should check"

Pause Pause Pause as she goes back to find a sale tag.

Calli: "Mom, they aren't on sale, I really don't think I should get them. I can find another pair before school that I like"

That was a proud moment for me!

THE LITTLE MAN IS GROWING

I don't think I have to preface these pictures with any words. Primarily because he's so sweet and they speak for themselves. We got to keep Hudson for 3 days last week for about an hour and a half while my sister had something to do. Of course we all enjoyed our bonding time.

COLSON, OUR SALESMAN!

Wes and I were reminded of a funny story this past weekend and I thought I would go ahead an blog it so we can remember it. It's cute.

About 3 months ago, Wes got a wild hair to buy a bigger ATV for our family. We had a Rhino but he wanted to get the Polaris Ranger with 2 bench seats...I call it our Zoo Tram. Since we were getting the bigger ATV and to help pay for it, Wes put the Rhino on Craig's List and within 30 minutes he was outside getting it all ready because he had a guy from Beaumont driving down to look at it and was ready to buy if everything looked good.

So, the man arrived a couple of hours later and Wes takes him outside to show it to him and give him the sales pitch in an effort to get it out of our garage that night. As Wes is pointing out all of the features of the Rhino, Colson chimes in "Yea it even catches on fire, right Dad?" FORTUNATELY the buyer didn't hear him because he had started to ask a question at the same time. Wes quickly distracted Colson and told him to go inside and ask mommy for I don't remember what.

What he was referring to was the time a couple of years ago, when my sister Christina, had taken him and Calli for a ride. Wes had taken it out that weekend before and had been riding through a bunch of high grass and brush so there was a lot of it stuck underneath the bed of the Rhino and I guess laying ontop of something that got hot. As my sister drove them around, that part of the Rhino got hot and caught the dry grass and brush on fire. My sister pulled it in the driveway and smelled the fire but couldn't figure out where it was coming from until she stepped out of the Rhino and they all saw that it was on fire. Obviously they put out the fire and nothing was ruined on the Rhino. Colson thought this was a feature of the Rhino...that it would catch on fire! If we were selling it to another 5 year old, that might be a feature we would point out but selling it to a grown adult....catching on fire probably doesn't make his "must have" list.

A FAMILY NIGHT OUT

Last night was pretty cool! It was relaxing, refreshing, and I was encouraged and spending the outing as a family was just plain fun! There were no fights, no bickering (I am speaking of the children's behavior of course) and both Calli and Colson enjoyed the music, atmosphere and of course tshirt buying (this is the closest thing to a gift shop that this place had). Last night, Wes, Calli, Colson and I attended the Mercy Me concert at the Woodlands Pavillion. It's an awesome venue for a concert and the weather was close to perfect.

Our family really likes music and Mercy Me is a favorite band of all of ours. It's a Christian band with some great music. It was powerful and the place was packed. Calli really enjoyed it and told me today that she hopes she can go to a lot more concerts. Colson did really well until Mercy Me was about to come on. As a mother who brought her kids it was a little frustrating to have the concert start at 7:30 pm and have 3 other bands come on before the headliner (Mercy Me) which came on at 10:00. I didn't feel the frustration then but as an afterthought, it's hard to bring kids to something like that. Of course I expected it going in but hoped it would be earlier. Anyways, 10:00 is WAY past Colson's bedtime and so up until that point, he did good. And then he said "I'm ready to go home". I encouraged him that Mercy Me was coming on and he'd know lots of their songs and he could sing and dance or sit in my lap or lay on the blanket....many options were thrown out there...none taken. "I just want to go home", he'd say. I am thankful there were no fits involved (whew!) but after every song for the first 3 or 4 he'd go "Now is it time to go home?" I finally convinced him to lay down beside me and within 60 seconds we saw this
and snores denoted this little boy had gone to la la land! Calli was also getting tired but was enjoying the music and singing along.

As the last song was playing (we didn't know it was the last one) her eyes closed and quickly opened as she lay in my lap. Wes said, "We really should go...we can't carry both of them out of here". I knew he was right. It really was a great evening and a great concert!