What's New With The Carter Family

That's right folks.  You heard right.  We FINALLY made it to LEGOLAND, California, for a secret, hush hush, family   >>mostly for Jem<<    vacation!  It was AWESOME in so many ways....but let me start at the beginning :)  So first of all you should probably know that Jem had NO IDEA.  None whatsoever.  Not that we were going anywhere, much less that we were going to LEGOLAND.  In fact, we woke up that morning and "pretended" to drive him to school.  Only we didn't take the exit.  And when he kept asking us what we were doing, and where we were going....we simply told him that we were going to spend the day together as a family.  And then we drove to the parking garage at the airport.  And then he realized something was UP because we were all getting out of the car and we had luggage.  SO FUN!  We ended up telling him that we were going to spend a few days in San Diego, since he had the ...

It's crazy how time flies.....it seems like not very long ago I had a little boy who was starting preschool. I remember one of my very first posts on this blog was Jem's first day at Sunnyside. Now here I am, 8 years later, blogging about my almost middle schooler. This is the summer before Jem starts Middle School - I can't really believe we're at this point in time.  Crazy!   Here are some pictures of Jem with his friends from Sunnyside Preschool - Wesley, Kira and Tiana -- who I am proud to say, still get to see each other after all these years. I love these kiddos, their moms, and their families, and I'm so grateful that they get to be a part of our lives!  

I just love this kid!  Matthew is Jem's longest known friend; we moved next door to them when Matthew was 11 months old and Jem was 16 months old.  They have been best buddies ever since!  I not so secretly joke that Matthew is my second son ;)  Love those boys!

Love this place....and especially love going there with these guys.  Jem's preschool buddies - Wesley, Tiana and Kira (not there that day though).   It was such a fun, relaxing day.  Can't wait to go back again next year!   Even Miss Fin had fun :)  She's still not sure about the water, but we'll get her loving it in no time!

Yep. My boy is TEN. Double digits. I can barely believe it. I think I'm in denial...that is, until my son starts going ON and ON about how he's now TEN and how he's a big kid because he's TEN and oh yeah, mom did you hear, I'M TEN? We get it Jem...I mean, James. Good thing for you you're adorable. And loving. Look at how the first thing you did when you got up on your birthday was rush in to say good morning to your little sister :) I forgive you for being TEN. Just barely. I even was so nice as to let you have a sleepover with your best buddies. Nathan, Garrett and Matthew. With a movie. And a concession stand full of goodies to purchase with special "tickets". That's right. Cause I love you like that, Mr. TEN year old boy. Good thing TEN year olds still love to cuddle their mamas, otherwise there would be BIG trouble.

I had the most amazing time at my baby shower :) Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who came....I love you guys, and it meant the world to me to have my closest friends and family there to celebrate the occassion with me! A very special thank you to my BFF April for hosting it -- you put in an enormous amount of time & effort to make the day very special! I love you for it! Thank you also to Heidi for snapping some pics - I'm sure it's the last thing you want to be doing when you're not working, but I'm ever so thankful to have some photographs to remember the day!

I love that Jem and Matthew are still good friends. It's been 8 years since we moved next door to them in Lake Stevens...and while they've since moved away, I've always been happy that our paths crossed. Our decision to purchase this house (instead of the one in Marysville) has made the course of our lives such that it is now....and I wouldn't trade it for anything :)

We took an end of summer trip Vancouver, Canada, with our good friends The Bakula Family. It was a really fun end to summer break, and we packed in as much as we could into the three short days we were there. Some of the highlights include: Stanley Park Aquarium, Capilano Suspension Bridge, 218 flavor ice-cream shop, swimming in the pool, LOTS of eating out (Brandon tried 'poutine' for the first time). Some of my impressions of Vancouver - thousands of highrise apartment buildings in the city center (kind of like a mini New York only maybe not so mini), very expensive prices for EVERYTHING, in dire need of an interstate system (always driving around on small residential roads to get anywhere), beautiful architecture in the city center, Asian signs on EVERYTHING in Richmond (where our hotel was located). It was a GREAT vacation with April, Burke, Matthew, Ryan and Adam! Will definitely have to go back again sometime, as there was so much to do there that we didn't have a cha...

This year goes down as one of the best 4th of July's ever! It was a PERFECT day - sunny & warm, and we spent the holiday with our family and friends. Can't get any better than that, right? The Skinners were generous enough to host at their new house...and it was a great day! We played some games, ate some food, and talked while the kids played. The Bakula Boys brought their scooters, and the kiddos rode and rode and rode....they also had fun with chalk, and with their water guns :) Burkey got a little TOO close with the water gun, as you'll see a little later on! The cutest thing ever was how little Adam was Jem's little shadow :) He kept wanting to be near him, and when we saw him scratching Jem's back we thought it was the CUTEST thing ever! April was missing her Mexico warmth...towards the end of the night she was covered in 2 blankets and 2 towels LOL. The fireworks show was spectacular, as usual! We set off some mortars and we had a whole bunch of sparklers...

Jem's annual end of school year celebration is a "Field Day". The kids really get excited for this day to come around, not so much because it signifies the end of school and the beginning of summer...but because it's a fun day spent with their buddies! This year both Brandon and I were able to go and watch the games...and the weather held out! Here is Jem during the tug-of-war....it's boys versus girls and.........THE GIRLS WON!!!!! Here is Jem with his best school friend, Garrett. Honestly, the best part of the whole day for Jem was getting to play with Garrett the entire time! Here's to hoping we have a great, long, warm summer!

It's true. We're a carpool family. We kind of have to be, what with Jem's school being so far from our home. It's 20 minutes on a good day, but on a day with traffic...well...it's not a fun drive. We have been fortunate to share the driving responsibility with another NCA family - a family that has become very dear to me after 3 years of travelling to and from school together. I'm sad to say though, that this may be our last year of carpooling with the Conklin kids. It's our cars, you see. Both Brandon's and mine. They only seat 3. And the Conklins have one more little guy who is starting Kindergarten next year. Unless he lays flat in the trunk (and I'm not sure how well that would go over with Jen and Zack), we'll be one seat short next year. Hence no more carpooling. *Sigh* It's the end of an era. Brandon loves to joke around with the girls. He likes to say "Brooke said...." and then tell a whopper, all the while Brooke is in the...

For Jem's birthday this year, we invited a few of his friends to join us at the pool for a pool party. These are my favorite parties....you turn up right when the party is scheduled to start, you have the pool all to yourself for the hour you're there, you have food and presents in the bleachers, and...the best part...when the party is over there is nothing else to do! No cleaning up. You dump all the trash in the can. No house to clean and get back to normal. Simplicity at it's best! Oh and ok, the swimming part is a lot of fun too...for Jem and his friends :) And Brandon. He always makes it a fun time, playing with the kids in the water, dragging them around in their inflatables. Thank you River, Piper, Matt, Ryan, Adam, Wesley, Asher, Teagan, Hannah, Mitchell, Jack, Carson, Cale & Ashton, for helping us celebrate Jem's 9th Birthday!

Seriously. 3rd Grade already. Are you kidding me? How is this possible? Wasn't he JUST starting preschool? I mean, I think that his first day of preschool was one of my first blog entries here. THIRD GRADE???? What crazy world do we live in where kids keep growing up? CRAZY! So I know I've been anxious for summer to be over - this has been a weird summer, probably the saddest, most drama filled summer EVER. But the reality of my little boy starting 3rd grade didn't really hit me until I took him outside for his traditional "First day" photos. He just looks so BIG. So.... 3rd Grade-ish! You know what I mean? Tall, right? Love that smile! The "Mario Bros" backpack he got for his birthday this year, from his best friend Heather :) In front of his school.... ....and with his best friend Heather! Hope you have a GREAT year Jem - love you to infinity and beyond! Mommy xoxox

Every year NCA holds a field day for Grades 1-8, the day after school ends. Field days are SO MUCH FUN! It's basically a chance for the classes to have one last fun event together...as they move around the field, competing in events against the other classes in their grade level. I was a little worried about the weather this year...it had been raining all week, and it was overcast and yucky....but thankfully the rain held off while the kids were outside and Jem had a great time! Here are some pictures from the day... The Boys in Jem's class against the boys in Mrs Hill's class! Heather passes the ball over to Jem, who then needs to pass it under to Sabrina! Best buds Abby, Jem and Heather! One of the challenges - racing to open a starbust WITH GLOVES ON! (And yes, they got to eat the Starburst when they were done haha!). Jem and buddy Ben. What a fun class, what a fun year!