Nolan's First Day of Kindergarten

Nolan is officially a Goshen Gator, his first day of Kindergarten was on August 16th, 2016. Nolan's teacher is Mr. Dinkheller, yep a male kindergarten teacher!  Nolan has adapted so well, it's like he has always gone to school.  Bill and I had no doubt in our mind Nolan was going to be a great student.

Nolan and his school signs!

Below is a close up of Nolan's sign 

Nolan's first day was on a Tuesday, so Papa and Nana were at the house watching Blake and Carter.  

It is so hard to express how proud of Nolan both Bill and I are.  It really does seem like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital on a snowy day after being born, then starting him in preschool, and now he is in Kindergarten!!

Nolan gave good-bye hugs to Blake and Carter.  Then he was ready to make his way to school.

The grass was wet, so Nolan stood on his tip toes for the picture.

When Nolan was picked up from school after his first day was over, he kept pretty quiet and didn't really talk a whole lot about school.  During our nightly talks, Nolan opened up a little more about school.  One thing Nolan was excited about was the school lunch!!  He was excited to have chocolate milk, chocolate pudding, and a sandwich cut in the shape of a goldfish.  Good job to the cafeteria crew, this little boy was impressed!!

I asked all the questions a mom wants to know, "Who did you sit with at lunch?", "What did you play at recess?", "Did you find the bathroom okay?", "Did you nap at rest time?", "Who were your new friends you made?" Poor Nolan answered my questions and rolled his eyes each time!

Nolan has made lots of friends since starting school.  Nolan met an outgoing little boy at orientation night, Grant, who happens to have a locker right next to him.  Nolan frequently mentions Grant, Liam, Christian, Anna, and Harper as his good friends.  

The pictures below were from Nolan's Kindergarten Orientation, which was on August 11th.  The students were able to bring in their supplies, meet the teacher and classmates, and become more familiar with the school and their classroom.

Pictures in front of the school 

Bill was trying to make a "K" with his hands. 

Splash Park Fun

The new splash park in our area opened around the end of July.  The hours are great and it is FREE!

The boys loved the park and every time we went back more fun was had.  Nolan, Carter, and Blake became used to their surroundings after each trip and you could tell they were more comfortable playing.  It is a perfect way to stay cool on a hot summer day.  You don't have to worry about the "deep end" as you do when you go to a pool, which is much easier for me when I'm by myself with all 3 of the boys.

There is a big bucket and it fills up with water, once the bucket is full it tips over and all the water runs down a chute.  Below is a picture of Nolan anxiously awaiting the bucket of water to tip over!

There is a little kids section at one end and it has sprinklers and little things with water for Blake's age.

We typically go in the afternoon when it is less busy and not so hot.  Plus the boys are nice and worn out for bedtime!

Nolan and Carter being silly boys!

The splash park is not fully completed.  Next year there is going to be concession and much more.  The mayor asked the construction crew to hold off delaying the park any longer and allowed the park to be open for play.  We are excited to see what the finished product will look like next year!

Happy Feet

When Nolan was 3 we attempted the Happy Feet summer soccer league.  Nolan was so shy he did not like to participate in the games, but sat on my lap along the sidelines.  Fast forward a couple of years and we are attempting the Happy Feet summer soccer league once more with Nolan and Carter.  Nolan has really come a long way with his shyness, but Carter not so much.  Anyway the boys' first games were on June 25th.  Carter's team, orange Cheetahs, played first followed by Nolan's team, gray hawks.

This picture is the closest Carter came to playing soccer.  He would not go out on the field by himself and once the other kids started to warm up he was done.  Carter found his spot on my lap and we eventually moved into the car where the AC awaited us until Nolan's game started.

Nolan on the other hand did great this year!  He went out on the field and warmed up with Bill for a little bit. Once his team started to arrive, Nolan was soon in soccer mode and ready to play.

I snapped a quick picture of Carter and Nolan before the game started.  Carter's face says it all. 

Nolan was a key player in the game.  I was super impressed with his ball handling skills and his ability to complete different soccer moves to get around a player or take the ball from the opposing team.  I hope Nolan continues to enjoy soccer because it was my favorite sport to play.

Towards the end of the game Nolan came up to me and said he was hot and ready to leave.  I told him it wasn't fair to his team if he left.  Nolan then informed me, "my team has 6, the other team has 5, my team is winning so we can leave."  This kid is too much sometimes.  Since it was extremely hot and Nolan's face was bright red, we went back to the car and sat in the AC while his team finished the game.

Good game Poot!

Glen Carbon Homecoming 2016

The evening of the race the Homecoming festivities took place, so I took Carter and Nolan to ride some rides.  Bill had helped some friends move earlier in the day and he didn't feel like being out in the heat in the evening, so he stayed at home with Blake.  Nolan and Carter really enjoy rides and they had a blast at the homecoming.  First up, the dragon roller coaster.  Carter covered his ears because it was a loud ride, but was all smiles at the end.

The boys and I made our way over to the little kids ride area, because they weren't tall enough for the other rides by the dragon roller coaster.

Nolan and Carter had enough tickets to ride 3 rides together and 1 ride by themselves.  They chose to ride the dragon roller coaster, helicopter, and dune buggie rides together.  Nolan opted for the fun house by himself and Carter chose to ride the dune buggies again by himself.

The trip was short and sweet.  The boys walked around and rode rides for about an hour and then we made our way back home.  No one was overheated, tired, or cranky which is a successful trip in my book!

My First 5k!

My sister, Kelby, talked me into signing up for a 5k race Father's Day weekend.  The 5k was the Covered Bridge Run in Glen Carbon.  From the day we signed up until the day of the race we had about 3 weeks to train.  Leading up to the race it was miserably hot out and I was worried about the weather, I had been running outside but it was in the evenings when the temperature was cooler.

June 18th, race day morning arrived and the weather could not have been more perfect!!  Low 70's, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.  Kelby and I went down to the race a little early to get lined up and take a few pictures.

We decided to pace ourselves in the middle of the pack.  I didn't really know what to expect going into the race.  My goal was to not walk, I know its only 3.1 miles but I haven't ran since high school soccer!

The gun shot and we were off.  I didn't realize Bill had brought the boys down to watch the beginning of the race, but I was excited he did because he got some good pictures of us running.

On our way back to the finish line.  The race was a big loop along the bike trails.

 We finished and did not walk one time!

Once we were able to catch our breath, we realized the results were posted at the finish line.  Kelby and I could not believe our eyes.  Kelby ran the 5k in 28:51 with a 9:18/mile pace.  I ran the 5k in 28:52 with a 9:19/mile pace. Kelby beat me by 1 second, but because she was in a younger age group, placing her in 4th for her age group, I placed 3rd for my age group!  Sometimes it pays to be older!

 Blake was pretty excited to see my chunk of wood!

 Below are some professional pictures taken at the race.

I had a great time training and taking on this new adventure with Kelby.  We would text each other everyday on our times and distances when training.  The energy I felt while running was what I felt when competing in sports during school.  I don't know if I will ever run anything higher than a 5k, but Kelby and I are already planning our next 5k run.  I feel so blessed I was able to complete this with not only my sister, but one of my best friends by my side.