Back to School Bash!

To celebrate the new school year, we decided to throw an outdoor movie night ~ drive-in style~ and it was awesome! My kids don't watch TV during the school week at all, so Friday night is movie night in our family. We invited friends and neighbors over and had a great time with pizza, popcorn, root beer floats, and more out on the lawn watching "A Night at the Museum".

About 20 kids were there. Afterwards, we decided that it would be a great birthday party as it was soooooo easy and the kids all loved it! Luckily it was a nice, warm night--perfect for enjoying the outdoors.

We hung a sheet from the eave and used a projector hooked up to a laptop playing the DVD. Pizza was delivered by my nephew from Pizza Hut, some goodies put out on two tables, some blankets and chairs on the grass and voila! Instant party!

Back to School

Today is the day! Among the nerves, there was excitement.

I am very sad that summer is over as I have enjoyed being able to play with my kids everyday. Now it is time for another chapter in life, another routine, a new beginning.

We took pictures out front, like we always do, on the way to school.

Madison is starting 5th grade, her last year at Maple Elementary. (sniff).

Brooke is now 3rd grade and was not the happiest with her teacher assignment, but I think it will be a great fit. Brooke has only heard that the teacher is "strict" - maybe that's why I like it.

Brooke all settled in her classroom at the 'girl' table.

Christian with his buddy Tim (who is in Madison's class). Tim always allows Christian to play with him during the Father and Son Camp-out. It's really cute - Tim saw Christian walking by, called out to him and ran over to see him. Christian thought that was pretty cool. I wonder if it has anything to do with the little crush Tim has had on Madison? He could be pretty smart - get in good with the little brother. Sorry Tim, you have to get in good with the parents! ha!

Madison in line ready to go into her class room - she happened go glance over at me. I'm glad she's not embarrassed by me taking so many pictures. I'm also glad that there were many (many!) other parents doing the same thing. The teacher had to excuse us so she could start teaching! I wonder if next year we will all be there at the junior high taking pictures and holding our kids' hands?

What?

Junior high?

Did I just say that?

Nooooo!

I don't think I'll let her go to junior high.

Madison found her desk. I think the kids are all overwhelmed at the sheer amount of books and things they have. There was no room on the desk for anything! It's such a big class, too: 36 kids! I would feel claustrophobic. Notice Tim sitting right behind her; I think he'll be stoked.

Christian is in p.m. kindergarten. He was very, very excited to go and wanted to stay at school when the dropped the girls off this morning. He starts at 11:15, so we went back later. I made him a tote bag and he thought it was very cool... like Indiana Jones.

He is ready for K!

His best bud Harrison also started K, but is in a different class.

That could be a good thing since they have a habit of playing non-stop and not paying attention to the teacher.

Christian with Mrs. Zdenek (above) and Mrs. Barkman (below). They team teach and both Brooke and Madison had them. They are awesome ladies - he'll have a great year!

He got right down to business at his desk!

I got to clean the house when I got home . . . and it stayed clean for the whole hour (because Ashlyn is napping)! It hasn't been this clean or quiet for the entire summer.

Now it's time to pick up the kids. I'm so anxious to hear how their day went and it will be interesting to see how many minutes it takes before the house is destroyed.

Surfing!!

Saturday is a special day, it's the day you can go to the beach!

Well, not usually. Today was supposed to be 100% dedicated to the bathroom (yes, the still-half-gutted bathroom). But since the sinks and the faucets haven't arrived yet, John is at a bit of a standstill. It was a warm day. I think it was near 80 degrees (!) so we decided to go to the beach to teach the girls how to surf. School starts on Thursday and one of the summer goals was to go surfing and we didn't want to let that one slide.

We went up to Faria which is a great little beach with a sandy bottom and nice easy waves that are perfect for learning. It was gorgeous as there was no wind (I don't like it when it's too breezy!) and it was the perfect temperature to get in the water.

Ashlyn and Christian were completely content playing in the sand or on the rocks . . .

but Madison and Brooke prefer to Boogie Board.

After Boogie Boarding and hanging out, we finally convinced Brooke and Madison to try surfing.

Brooke practiced standing and loved having Daddy help her out in the water.

She is all business listening to Daddy's instructions. Look at that look of determination on her face!

She got a bit cold so put her wetsuit on.

Madison took to it right away! She kept standing up wave after wave.

On the way home they asked when they could go again. Well, how about for Family Night?

Y'think they can wait two whole days? Hopefully the weather will be just as gorgeous and I'll actually give it a try again. (yes, me! I did it too!)

On the way home, we stopped at In-n-Out for dinner. Doesn't get much better than that! We decided to eat at home since having hamburgers in the car with Cole probably wasn't the best idea. We ate picnic-style outside then gave Cole a bath and washed the car while we were still in sandy bathing suits. Even neighbor kids came over to help. Then they run around and beg to get squirted by the hose. Funny kids.

I love having John home and not traveling, working, or knee-deep in a project! Not that we had him all to ourselves all day. In the morning he helped with an Eagle Project, then when we got back from the beach while we were washing the car and the dog, he installed a new kitchen faucet, repaired the water-damaged cabinet, fixed our new fan (that I accidentally knocked over while shampooing the carpet tonight) and prepared an EQ lesson for Sunday. We also made brownies (from scratch) for his class and we had to stay up past midnight to make sure they turned out OK.

See? Saturday is a special day.

Update: We went back on Monday night 8/24 on the way home from the Santa Barbara Zoo and the girls both did awesome! Brooke and Madison both were able to stand up and catch wave after wave. Madison is now asking how much a surfboard costs so she can save up for her one of her own.

More Summer Happenings

We have had such a fun and busy summer. I cannot believe it is about to come to a close with school starting on the 27th. There has not been one day where we've had nothing to do, nor have I heard "I'm bored" - come to think of it, there hasn't even been any fighting.

I hear from so many people that they can't wait for school to start because they are tired of the whining and fighting and having to entertain.

No way!

We are having way too much fun, especially because we are usually on the go, or have a minimum of 7 kids here, with 13 being not unheard of when we're home.

Instant Fun: Just Add Water!

One of the things we've done a few times is set up the giant water slide in the front yard. Friends and neighbors come over and play on this thing for hours! It is a great workout for the kids and they have an absolute blast.Monroe on the side slide

Madison making a splash

When they need a break, they just warm up on the driveway and have a little snack, then jump right back in (on?). It's always a treat to hear things like "This is the BEST day!" or "I can live in this thing!"

Mom and dad love scoring those easy cool-parent points.

Darby and Hannah ready to race

Darby making a splash

Ashlyn loved it, too!

The Circle of Life

Brooke got a bunny for her 2nd birthday six years ago. Actually, two bunnies to make it easier to share.

The girls named them Snow White and Cinderella;

which then needed to be changed to Snow White and Peter Pan;

which then needed to be changed to Thumper and Peter Pan.

These things aren't that easy to tell on a rabbit, OK?

The bunnies grew and grew and got more mischievous. Peter Pan loved to get dig a hole under the fence and eat our neighbor's flowers. One day, the neighbor had his gate open and Peter Pan, always the adventurous one, had his last adventure (and there was proof of it). We were down to just Thumper, who was much more mellow and calm.

Thumper lived in our backyard and in his cage. He was easy to care for and required very little.

Unfortunately, as Madison and her friend went out to feed him and play with him and found him in his cage not moving.

He lived to be the ripe old age of six.

It was a sad moment in the Merrill house.

He was our very first pet. Christian and Ashlyn don't know a life without him.

Frankly, we were very surprised that he lived that long and he outlived his siblings by years.

We decided to hold a funeral that night during FHE. It was very sweet.

When we got home from swimming that evening, I had the kids hurry and take a shower and put on jammies while I made dinner. They came down dressed all in black. Christian even put on a button-down shirt. They wanted to be dressed for the funeral!

Sometimes kids just do the cutest things.

John dug a hole right where Thumper's cage was on the side yard and we buried him. The kids all took turns putting flowers on him and when it came time to actually burying him is when they broke down.

I took pictures and decided not to post them as there was such a tender display of emotion I felt it disrespectful to post it.

We had a life lesson that day. Our first pet. Death. Saying Good-bye.

The natural circle of life.

They are all doing fine now - they just get a little sad when we forget and almost run out to give him the ends of our celery we just cut, or the tops of our carrots.

Now Madison and Brooke say they want to buy another bunny. They said there are bunnies in the mall for $50 and if they save up, they can buy one.

I think that will be yet another life lesson: we never buy pets from the mall! Geesh!

And I think having Cole is more than plenty for us right now.