Back to school!!

I feel like I have been ready for a while now for school to start. I'll miss all of our summer activities and the lack of a schedule, but I won't miss all of the fighting and bickering and whining that has been in my house for about the past month. They needed to be back in school so they could miss each other a little bit and not fight so much I think.

Monday night for our FHE, Kevin took each child one at a time, including Kelsie, and gave them a back to school "interview". Each one lasted about 10-15 minutes. It was really quiet during Jacob's and Kayla's interviews and then there was lots of singing when it was Kelsie's turn. Way cute!! They each loved the one on one time that they had with their dad. They each received a blessing and that ended our night. It was very special.



On Tuesday night we got them in bed by 8:30, well Jacob and Kayla anyway, Kelsie is a night owl!! They each got one on one time with Kevin and I separately just to talk or say a prayer or read a book or two before bed. During my time with each one of them I started to get very emotional. Jake was reading me a Junie B. First Grader book and I just realized how grown up he is. We were reading a first day of school book with Kayla and it just HIT me HARD, that she was starting Kindergarten. I held it together.



We got up this morning and got ready had breakfast, all very smooth. Got Jacob to school and into his classroom. I snapped a few pictures and I just couldn't leave. He kept looking at me like, "Okay Mom, you can go now." I remembered that they were serving doughnuts and orange juice out front (THANK YOU PTO) so I turned around and headed out. I held it together though. I got home and got Kayla in the bath tub, we picked out her first day of school outfit, combed her hair, and waited. I was in no hurry but Kayla was so impatient. She has afternoon kindergarten. Finally, the time came and we went back up to the school knowing very well she would only be there for one hour and ten minutes because of Wednesday early release. We got her into class and I curiously watched her as she interacted with her new school friends and teacher. About ten minutes later Senora Hannan says, "Adios" and waves at the parents who were still lingering in the classroom. So I grabbed Kelsie by the hand, waved good bye to Kayla and left. I SO did not hold it together. I sulked to my car and drove the two blocks home and called my Mom in tears telling her I had just dropped Kayla off at her first day (or hour) of kindergarten. Am I a wimp or what? Kelsie asked where Kayla was the entire hour she was gone. This didn't help. It was finally time to go pick them up and I was feeling fine. Let's hope we don't have a repeat of this tomorrow when she is in school for 3 hours!



Not that I was less emotional about Jacob, but he is in second grade now. I was waaay emotional when he started kindergarten. I am very excited for both of my kids to start a new school year and to see what fun things Kelsie and I will do together when we are alone.

Being 8

This post is a little late but I wanted to make sure I had enough time to do this post justice and I also had to round up the pictures off of different peoples' cameras.

Jacob turned 8 on August 10. Wow, I can't believe it. Where did eight years go. I remember going into labor with him at our little duplex in Kennewick and it was the classic ,"Honey I think its time," and Kevin and my sister Lisa, who was living with us at the time, grabbed the bags and headed out to the car at midnight while I was struggling to walk myself down the hallway. They finally realized they were missing me and came back to help me.

I was so overwhelmed when we brought him home. He was so perfect. I didn't know what to do with him but I knew I loved him so much. The thing about the first born is that all of their "firsts" are also your "firsts". It's an overwhelming, emotional feeling every time my first born experiences something for the first time. Jacob has always been his father's son. He wouldn't go to nursery without Kevin, wherever Kevin is, that's where you'll find Jacob. Doing the guy stuff. But I think I get the best part of him. The snugly, I am not feeling good, I want some attention, can I get a hug and kiss, look what I did in school, Jacob.





I clearly remember for so many years Jacob saying, "I am NOT getting baptised!" I would say to Kevin, "What are we going to do?" Kevin assured me it was just a phase, a very long phase, that he would get over. He was right. The months leading up to his baptism I really saw him grow and understand his decision. The importance of baptism and the truths of the gospel, he understood it all. He was so excited, he had a countdown calendar that he would mark off. He has so excited for his first interview with the Bishop. He said he felt powerful (the Holy Ghost). He felt like a grown up. In so many ways he is more grown up than so many people I know. He is an amazing example to all of his family. My family has been so impressed with his maturity and his "knowing" that what he was doing was the right choice and what Heavenly Father wants him to do.


THE OLSON BOYS


GRANDMA OLSON, JACOB & GREAT-GRANDMA COX

This morning I found him reading all of the cards that people wrote to him during his baptism. He said that he liked to read them because they made him feel good and happy. Thank you so much to all who attended and left your testimonies for Jacob to read. It's only been a week and already he is reading your words and taking them to heart. I am so proud of Jacob. I was no where near his level when I was eight. He amazes me. I love you Jacob.

Lightnin' Strikes Again

So some of you know that Kevin races in Demolition Derbies. Every year all summer long he races at county fairs and different events. He doesn't do the crash'em up, last man standing wins, just the heat races. He really enjoys it and it is so fun (and sometimes scary) for me to watch him race. Jacob loves it, of course, and the girls, not so much. Last Wednesday, at the Grant County Fair in Moses Lake, Kevin had his most recent race. The Grant County Fair is like the Grand Daddy of all Demo Races. He always gets really nervous for this race because there are good drivers who race a good, clean, fast race. He sometimes does the Benton-Franklin Fair Demo Race, but didn't this year because he was just way too busy at work and it takes a lot of time to get the car running just right after being beat up every race. Last year Jacob decided that it would be fun to have a theme car. Most guys just paint it up however and race it, it's going to be scrap metal anyway right?!?! Jacob's idea was to have a Lightning McQueen car. So with the help of some friends, this is what they came up with. Pretty cool, huh? Too, bad he doesn't look like that any more. He's a little beat up, seriously. Last year at the ML Demo he won the nicest car award and came in second at the BF Demo. Not expecting to even be in the nicest car contest this year because the car is so beaten up, he won it again this year in ML. All the kids go nuts over his car. Whose gonna vote against Lightnin' McQueen, right? So anyway, he won nicest car again this year and got another trophy to hang in Jacobs' room and he even won his heat race. That came with a $60 prize. NICE! This is him getting his trophy last Wednesday night. This is a picture of his brothers' car after his race. Notice it is missing a tire, the axle broke, and it is getting towed away. During the Powder Puff, oh yeah, the girls race too, a car actually flipped over and landed on its roof. All the males in the crowd said, "That's what happens when you let a woman drive." Whatever. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that. For those of you who have never experienced the thrill and excitement of a demo derby race, here you go! Enjoy!! Go Lightnin'!!

My Own Personal Body Guard

Jacob has had a really big month. He has had so many wonderful things going on in his young little life this month. I hope to catch up on my blogging and post all of these wonderful things. I thought this was a good place to start. Back in May, Jacob decided he wanted to try Tae-Kwon Do. He has done very, very well. There are nine belt levels. Earlier this month he was eligible to test for the next belt. Here is Jacob after passing onto belt level number three, from Gold Belt to Orange Belt. Way to Go Jacob. We are so proud of you!!!

"... be baptized in my name and become as a little child..."

A wonderful friend of mine just made me realize that I have not formally invited a lot of my good friends to our special event this weekend. Jacob just turned 8 on August 10th, so all you TBM's know what that means. If you are free this Saturday and would like to come witness our special event, it starts at 1:30. A luncheon will be held at our home afterwards. All are invited. We would LOVE to share this day with you all. Thank you Lindsay for calling!!!!

Good Morning!!

I thought I would share the wonderful images that I have the privilege of waking up to everyday!!


I love Kelsie's curls so much!! First thing in the morning, well . . . she totally has a fro!! I love it!!

We just thought we would say good morning to all!!!

Finally!

I have had complete bloggers block for the past week which is weird because I very rarely have nothing to talk about and I have lots of fresh material from our vacation. I have just been unmotivated to blog and have been having lots of fun with the kiddos. The neighbor kids are over and my kids are occupied at the moment so I thought this was my chance at getting some blogging in.

We had a really great time in "Seattle" in July and I took over 300 pictures to prove it. Can you imagine if we still used 35 mm and had to develop all of that film!! Anyway, I am going to share a few pics over the next few posts of what we did during our week on the west side!!

One of the main reasons we went to Mount Vernon for a week is because my cousin, Ben, is a baseball coach for Skagit Valley College. Every summer they hold a skills camp for kids ages 8-14. Jake is not 8 until August 10th (That'll be another bog topic) but Ben said bring him over, it'll be fun, so we did.



Here he is. Isn't his form great!! Jake was the youngest boy there but he did really well. He learned a lot of stuff that I was surprised to see when we got home really stuck with him. Like many young boys, he really wants to be a baseball player when he grows up, particularly for the Seattle Mariners.



This was the highlight on the last day of camp. Jacob is getting a baseball signed by Kyle Kendrick. Who's that? That's what I said, too. He is a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. He went to Cascade High School and played on my cousins' summer team. He was drafted and played his rookie year last year.



When we got home Jacob purchased his rookie baseball card from Ebay and the funny thing is now that I now who he is, I always hear his name whenever Kevin and Jacob are watching Sportscenter which is like all the time. So that was our celebrity moment for the summer.




We also had the opportunity to go to a Mariners game. We had amazing seats along the first base line right across from Ichiro. The kids were practically on the field. You know what else that means?!?! Foul ball territory! Jacob waited for his moment to pounce, then it happened. A ball was hit our way, it hit the stands, bounced and hit some kid in the mouth (he wasn't hurt), hit Jacob in the back and then he turned and DOVE on top of the ball and . . . he came up with the ball!! At seven years old he gets his first major league foul ball!! The mother of the boy who got hit in the mouth insisted that Jacob give her son the ball. I DON'T THINK SO!! He should have been quicker to get to the ball. Kevin told Jacob it was his choice to either keep the ball or give it to the other kid. Of course he kept it!! Wouldn't you!! The boys' mother glared at us the whole game.





My sister, Ashley, took this picture of us.












This is Raul Ibanez. He is one of my favorites. He plays left field. The night we were there he hit a GRAND SLAM HOME RUN! It was so awesome to watch. Safeco went crazy!! At seven years old Jacob gets to witness a major league grand slam home run!!













This is Ichiro Suzuki. He is only and All Star, no big deal. WHATEV!!


















Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez. The night we went was Felix Hernandez bobble head night. The best part was that the night we were there they actually WON the game. Hopefully next season will be a better one for our Mariners.






This is father and son discussing the finer points of baseball.











This is me and my little sis hamming it up!!




Part 2 of our trip is coming soon!!