Bowling with the Boss

Katie really enjoyed the bowling this year. She was very excited about her pink bowling ball.

Collin also loved the bowling tonight. He did quite well this year...

but since Katie SOMEHOW got a strike and 3 spares in a row, she won!

We bowl with the boss (the president of OC) every year before all the faculty and staff return to OC. It's a fun evening. The kids like the bowling, pizza and especially the M&M cookies.

Jarre - your friend Jane Neece was there tonight and we enjoyed visiting with Art and her. She told Katie about you two growing up together and being little girls at the same time. Katie said, "Jarre is not a little girl. She's now a big sister like me." We think that meant that Katie thinks she is a grown up like you because she will be a big sister soon. Really not completely sure though.

First Day...6 days late

Here is Collin sitting in his line waiting to go to his classroom.
Tuesday was a VERY rainy morning so we took our outside photo on Wednesday.

Katie was not as frustrated that she was not going to school with Collin this year. There has been no stomping of feet and declaring that "Katie goes to Kindergarden!" But she misses Collin so much and this makes me miss him more too. This year she says, "Collin is gone a wary, wary long time."

Collin LOVES first grade. His favorite thing to do is math! He likes it when it is time to get out the math workbook. He loves PE and music and health and eating lunch at school. He likes having recess on a "big kid" playground. He likes having his friend Nathan in his class. He also said he made a new friend named Lily, but he calls her Lily the Second because he already has a friend named Lily at his old school (and church). Today he told me that he told the teacher that in Mrs. Bigelow's class last year he learned that the answer to an addition problem is called a sum and the answer to a subtraction problem is called a difference. And because he told Mrs. Johnston this, he got to put some "honey in his honey pot." (I'm not quite sure what this means, but I do know it's not real honey and it's only paper.) But putting honey in your honey pot is a good thing.

I'd like to take a moment to blame our 8 year old home computer for the lack of blogs. When I click onto my blog, the computer turns off and then back on EVERY TIME!! I'm annoyed, I'm frustrated, I'm really mad. But I have taken a few deep breaths since the last time I decided to try it again, so now I am using the Sonshine School laptop to help feed my blog frenzy. (And if you have seen the Sonshine School laptop, it is probably older, but it's not going crazy on me.)

Seahorse and Goldfish

Collin, the seahorse, has passed swimming lessons this year. He had to repeat the seahorse level this year because he cried almost every day last year. Collin told us it was because his teacher had a tatoo on his back and that scared him. Well, he didn't cry any this year and did all his skills to pass to the next level! Yea Collin!
Katie and Collin having fun after their swim test.

Katie, the goldfish, would jump off the high dive and then wonder what to do next if we would let her. She is a daredevil. But she was the best swimmer in the goldfish class. She swam (with assistance from the teacher) the entire length of the lazy river at Pelican Bay. Yea Katie!

She opted for the 0 foot sprayground after going through the river.

We are fortunate to have a neighborhood pool now so we can practice our skills more frequently than we did last year. Yea to my seahorse and goldfish!

I'M BA-ACK!

Hello blogging friends and family,
The blog virus has now been diagnosed and taken care of...hopefully. Since the last post you see is in May, let me catch you up on the last 2 months.
Traveled to...
London, England
Vienna, Austria
Cologne, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Vittenburg, Germany
Rust, Germany
Rothenburg, Germany
Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Normandy, France
Paris, France
Interlocken, Switzerland
I have 1000+ pictures to go with all these places, but since I am already behind in blogging...well, it's best to just make a list at this point.


We came home on July 16. Moved to a new house on July 17-29. Closed on old and new house on July 20. Slept, slept, slept until Thursday and my parents brought our kiddos back from Texas. My mom laid shelf paper and unpacked a few boxes. I watched and/or slept. Then my best friend since youth group, Laura, and her 2 kiddos came up and unpacked the rest of my house. If you ever need anything cleaned out or organized...she's your girl. I called her a work horse, a task master, a slave driver...and she still kept unpacking us. Thank you dear friend! And did you notice you are on the blog roll now? Yip!

Since then, we have tried to get into a semi-routine of daily swimming lessons, Matt WALKING to work (yea!! that is so exciting to both of us!), and me getting organized around the new place.

Whew! Two months in a nutshell and there are no pictures. If you are still reading...you are a great friend or one of our parents. Thank you! Now that the blog virus has been eliminated...prepare yourselves for more adventures from the McCooks. And I may even post some of our Europe trip...beware I have many, too many.

It's nice to be back. I have much to say.

Not sure what to title this...

I don't know why I have been waking up at about 4:00 the past 3 mornings...maybe my list of things to do just keeps running through my head and I suddenly wake up thinking I need to get something done.

To Do:
Speak to sister-in-law Kristen on phone BEFORE trip - no more phone tag
Laundry
Pack
Bills paid before we leave
Extra keys made and given to Catherine and Sarah
Give garage door opener to someone - just feel like someone needs to have that
Pictures taken of house just in case it sells and my stuff is moved out before our return
Make lawn arrangements
Surrender checkbook and credit card to Sarah - VERY nervous about this action :)
Call bank to say, "We will be making purchases in Europe. Please allow our money to go there. Unless you see some suspicious check writing and then call Sarah."
Oh yeah - have Sarah added to account
Develop all pictures on camera, so there is room for new pictures
Probably need to purchase another little camera card thingy
And need to buy a backup battery for video camera
Buy kid's benadryl, tylenol, adult benadryl and tylenol
Also get to purchase some FABULOUS compression hose to wear on the 9 hour flight!!
Get a sonogram - look carefully and notice if the sonogram tech leaves the room and has someone else come back in, if so...it has something to do with my "advance maternal age" - just LOVE to keep hearing that phrase
Remind myself daily why in the world Matt and I signed up for this trip.
Thank all the people who have said, "Is there anything I can do for you before, during, or after your trip?" Because I may be calling or emailing you tomorrow.
Finish off SSS in style...and by that I mean - sneak into the newly deadbolted Fellowship Central, take out MoonBounce and cars (and I should save Ralph too), place items outside and hope no one asks how I got them out of there.


And about a couple of things on my list...
I guess this might be our official blog announcement: Surprise! We are having baby #3 in October - that is the ONLY reason I will be buying the FABULOUS compression hose! And the only reason I'm having a sonogram on Friday. And no...we are not the find out kind...not until the big day. And P.S. Collin and Katie will be finding out about the new arrival on Friday. Yes, we will finally tell our children.

I do realize that Matt and I are exhibiting some VERY crazy behavior. 1) Going to Europe with a 6 year old, 3 year old, one of "advanced maternal age", and 24 college kids; 2) Putting our house on the market while gone; 3) Leaving checkbook and credit card in the hands of friend...so if anyone needs to schedule an intervention...you only have 4 days.

My domestic friend...

...Jenni made this bow holder for Katie. Now she is very domestic. I don't know how to create a link to her website, but it's www.kylaskloset.com. (oooh, maybe I just created a link by typing the address...). Thanks Jenni. I love it! Now to organize the bows.

It only took 4 months...

...to ruin the new pots and pans that my parents gave me for Christmas. Well, just one pot actually. My mom has had such high hopes for me: one day I would cook and serve a meal for my family (nightly), sew clothes for my children (Momma, Amy, Sherry, Mrs. Atkins - all of you have been my sewing teachers and you know how I am), keep the house clean, laundry done, bills paid, etc. Alas...the cook and serve pudding has really been a wake up call for me. I'm really just not that domestic, but I still like to pretend I am.