Nicholas is going to School!

Today was Nicholas's first day of school! He was so excited he insisted to drive right there after dropping off his brothers and sister. So we were 45 minutes early!!! We sat inside the car for awhile and Nick said he loves school, he can't wait to see his teacher, when can he get out of the car etc. Then he saw a little boy that he swears was at one of the VBS's we went to. Here is the dialog..
Nick: Oh I don't like that boy, he's mean, he pushes me and Kelli
Me: Oh you might not really know him..
Nick: yes
Nana (trying to change the subject): Nick you look so nice I like your sneakers
Nick: They light up (sneakers) and I can stomp on that bad boy with them!
Me: No No not a good idea....
Then we get out of the car and try to mingle with the other kids, Nick freaks, don't leave me, I miss you, what if I don't like it etc. Wow did not see that coming, I notice Nana is getting worried but I am holding strong.

After school Nick is one of the last kids to come out, now I am thinking he did stomp on that boy. His teacher comes out and says.... how wonderful Nick is and she wants to take him home. He was a pleasure in the classroom and listened and helped and answered. First I had to check if the right child was given to me. Okay he was! We get into the car with the chorus of how proud we are with him and asked him how his day was. This is his response:
Well, we played and went outside where I rode a bike, then we had snack of goldfish and juice with no lid on my cup! Then we found our names on the ground and we had to sit and sing songs which she sang wrong......
Nana and I were laughing so hard with that I am not sure how the rest of the day went. But Nick feels his teacher is not a good singer. Well we will have to see how Thursday goes!

Labels for Education

Nick is going to school this year. His school is collecting Campbell's Labels for Education and I am in charge of the project! (Did you think any less?) So could you help us collect some labels? You can send them to us or we can come to you!
Ready, Set, Things to eat!.....
Front Label of:
Campbell’s Beans Products
Campbell’s Condensed 10 oz. Soups
Campbell’s Condensed 26 oz. Soups
Campbell’s Low Sodium Soups
Campbell’s Fat Free Soups
Campbell’s Kitchen Classic Soups
Campbell’s Tomato Juices
Campbell’s Gravies
Campbell’s Soups (microwavable bowls)
Campbell’s Condensed 10 to 11 oz. Soups (Specially marked packages only)
upc code: Campbell’s Soup & Recipe Mix
front label of:
SpaghettiO’s® Original Pasta (7.5 oz., 26 oz.)
SpaghettiO’s® Meatball Pasta (7.5 oz., 26.25 oz.)
SpaghettiO’s® Original Pasta (15 oz.)
SpaghettiO’s® Meatball Pasta (14.75 oz.)
SpaghettiO’s® Princess Meatball Pasta (14.75 oz.) (Specially marked packages only)
All Campbell’s Soup At Hand
Campbell’s Chunky Soups
Campbell’s Chunky Chili
Campbell’s Chunky Fully Loaded Soups
Campbell’s Chunky Soups (microwavable bowls)
Campbell’s Chunky Chili (microwavable bowls)
Campbell’s Healthy Request Soups
All Campbell’s Supper Bakes Meal Kits
All Campbell’s Select Harvest™ Soups
Franco-American Gravies
front label of: Pepperidge Farm Soups
upc code:
Pepperidge Farm Breads, Croutons, Rolls & Stuffing
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers, Cookies, & Snack Mixes
Pepperidge Farm Frozen Garlic Breads, Cakes, Turnovers, Dumplings and Puff Pastry
Prego Italian Sauces
front label with upc code:
Swanson Broth (can and carton)
Swanson Canned Chicken
Swanson Cooking Stock (carton)
front label with upc code and colored caps:
All V8 100% Vegetable Juice
All V8 Splash Juice Drinks
All V8 Splash Smoothies
All V8 V-Fusion 100% Juice
lid: Pace salsa picante and picante conqueso

Nicky's Hero

Let me introduce you to Nick's hero: Kelli. The unthinkable happened Friday, the kids where swimming in the pool and I was sitting at the picnic table on the phone when Nicholas reached for a toy and fell into the pool! Kelli grabbed Nick and he grabbed her and with out a sound she held his head out of the water and tried to swim back to the steps. I jumped in clothes and shoes on and Kelli says to me its okay I got him! Nick was not half as scared as I was and Kelli saw that I was crying while hugging and kissing them both, she pulls away and says Mom you need to pull it together. (This is something I tell the kids all the time when they are falling apart)
Tyrene gave Kelli an award from the Red Cross (which Kelli proudly displays in her room) for saving Nicholas the day he fell into the pool.

4 Times Around

WOW! What a Wednesday, Jen and I stepped it up a notch and walked 4 miles in just over an hour in the morning and walked another 2 miles tonight while the kids where at AWANA! Talk about jumping into our fit and trim program. Our 2 day total is 9 miles, 5 blisters, 2 friends on their way to "skinny jeans".

Its all in a Name?

What Nicole Means

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Once Around?

Jen and I have talked all summer about starting to walk around the neighborhood to lose some of our "summer" weight. Jen who has 3 days practice was all set the morning while I dragged my @$$ over to her house. She has lightweight workout clothes while I had on terry cloth sweets and sneakers I did know I owned. So off we go with our walking companions Nick and Molly. I thought how hard could a mile be in 95 degree weather...... Well we did 3 miles in less then an hour and I was sweating in places I didn't know I had! I still don't know if the sweet was from the exercise or from the fact we where baking outside. Doesn't matter, we are hitting the trail tomorrow morning in our quest to be fit and trim.

Hurricane Fay, Please Go Away

Even though Fay is not a hurricane yet she has dropped tons of water and wind, here is the back yard right past the fence, and the pool area. We have not gotten to much water in the front yard as the back, but the wind has really started to pick up.

This is the street in front of the house, not so bad. No school again tomorrow due to all the flooding in our county.

First Day

All 3 wanted to wear their school t-shirts for the first day! Sal got manatee money for using his listening ears all day. Kelli had 2 pages filled out in her poetry book. Vinny loved his class all around. So a great first day had by all! We hope all our friends had a great first day too!

Meet your Teacher....

Friday was meet the teacher day at school. The kids could not wait to see their new teachers and classrooms. Sal's teacher is Ms Echevarria. He did not know anyone in his class, but was excited that she likes monkeys too! This could be a great match..... Kelli's teacher is Ms Spaulding. She has a friend "Andy" from school last year in her class. Her teacher has alot of spunk and already gave Kelli homework. Vinny's teacher is Ms Paulick, he knows 3 boys in his classroom from last year so he was very excited! She was super organized and her room was so put together. She might just be my favorite! LOL School starts Monday for the three of them and September 2 for Nicholas. Wow the summer flew by fast! But we had a great time. I'll update Monday on how the first day went.

Our Last Outing!

Crystal and I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese Thursday for our last summer outing. The kds had alot of fun and Chuck E entertained them for hours! I bent wrong and have been in a ton of pain since! I guess Chuck wasn't so nice to me. Thanks to Crystal who has been taking care of me Thursday and Friday!

Happy Birthday to Jen

Today is Jen's birthday, as she sails with her family on a cruise ship we here on dry land wish her a very happy birthday.

Jen and her family are very close to ours. When we moved back from Al she had encouraged us to move to PSL and not just anywhere, to her neighborhood! She is Sal's godmother and keeper of many memories. We have known each other since 7th grade so we have come a long way.

No matter where we are or where we might go our friendship will always be found. I love you Jen, I hope you are having a wonderful birthday.

My Bestest Friend
The distance between you and I

Is only a heartbeat away,

For you and I dwell in each other's heart -

There forever we will stay.

You know all my emotions,

Many they may be.

You know when to be gentle,

And when to chastise me.

Two gentle souls deeply connected,

Thoughts not spoken,

There is no need -

For the other knows what one is thinking

Even before they speak.

So with all the love I have

In my heart today,

I want to express to you

Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Crystal (http://crystalplus3.blogspot.com/ ) and I had dinner for our shared August birthdays (Her 9th, Me 11th) Saturday night to kick off a fun birthday weekend. Sunday, Tyrene (http://tyandj.blogspot.com) had a barbque birthday party for me and set up a pool for the kids.
Her friend Ashley brought over her children who spent the day making friends with my gang.

Monday, Mom and I took the kids to Lion Country Safari. All the animals where up and roaming around. The rhinos and zebras passed in front of our car. And a ram almost "rammed" us! The kids got to feed some goats and sheep,

and the giraffes. Nana had to show the how first!

Before we could leave we had to ride the Lions!

For Madison

For our friends at Growing Up Garcia
http://growingupgarcia.blogspot.com/
whose daughter eats Cat.... (or so she says) LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmXxrMC5Pv4

We Love You!