KIndergarten Take 2!!

So I am sure most of you know Mason was lucky enough to have 2 First Days of Kindergarten. Mason started Kindergarten at Chandler Traditional Academy with Mrs. Thompson in all day school. It was QUITE the adjustment for both him and his Mother. There were many tears shed by both Mason and his Mom. I just wanted to stay all day with him and show him the ropes but after a week we got the call from Benjamin Franklin Charter saying that they had a spot for him. His Mom and Dad were torn as to what to do but we opted for Franklin as it was only half day and it was a bit closer to home with more friends in the neighborhood. So now Mason is happily attending Franklin with Ms. Arnold. He is loving school and also loving being home in the morning to play with his brother Brock. Mason is a very smart little five year old and thanks to an AWESOME preschool teacher (Ms. Tiffany) Kindergarten will be a breeze for him!

4th of JULY

So when Wendi and Brian invited us up to Pinetop for the fourth I am sure they were just doing it out of obligation not thinking that we would ACTUALLY come with them but we did! We had so much fun escaping the heat and enjoying Brian's family cabins. Here is our travel log: Friday morning we arose bright and early (that would be 8:00 for us Knollmillers) and set out for the three hour drive. After a brief run to QT for some donuts and Diet Dew we were on the road. Here is a picture of our boys excited in the car - still in the garage. About 20 minutes into the drive Mason says - "what does that sign say - cabin soon?" Yep Mason, cabin soon. Thank heavens for portable DVD players. That pretty much kept them quiet most of the road and Jay and I enjoyed a little John Denver until the road got windy and I had to say goodnight.

We arrived at the cabin a few short hours later and Wendi and Brian, Brian's parents and grandparents were there to greet us. The boys decided pretty quickly to go fishing and somehow Wendi and I got the good fortune of staying home with the little ones (Talon and Hudson) and basically lounged around talking, eating and mostly eating. Here are some pictures of the boys fishing. I think they scared the fish though as nobody really caught anything.

Later that night after a yummy dinner the boys settled in to watch a movie and the adults attempted to play a game of Mexican train but the kids did not quite allow that to happen. We got through only two rounds but it was fun. Talon decided he did not need any sleep that night which made for kind of a long night for Jay and I but somehow we got a little energy together for the next day.

The weather could not have been more perfect and Brian's grandparents had plenty for the kids to do. We had a sandbox, dogs, pigeons, horses, swingsets, baseball, hammocks, FOOD, and bubbles for the little ones. They pretty much played outside for most of the time we were there. We did venture into Showlow and then decided to head up to Sunrise to do the ski lift. Not really having planned on doing this before we left we did not pack the appropriate attire for our kids and when we got up there it was about 50 degrees and raining. If you know my kids they have zero tolerance for cold weather









Here is a picture of Mason freezing his little buns off at Sunrise.

After Sunrise we were a bit hungry and figured what is more American than McDonalds? Yum.
We headed back to the cabin and put on our party hats. We had a fabulous dinner - barbecued beef, pasta salad, and a bunch of other yummy things I don't remember topped off with some delicious homemade ice cream. I of course made the boys sing their patriotic songs and then they did some poppers.







We finished the evening with a fireworks show in Show Low and here we are waiting for them to begin. The kids loved it for about 15 minutes and so we lasted about a half hour and then decided to hit the road.
Lucky for us the kids slept all three hours home and Jay and I just enjoyed being together in peace and quiet. So till next year Brian and Wendi!! Thanks for inviting us - Mason now wants to move to Pinetop and live in a cabin.

SO... where to begin??  I have been absent from the blogging world but decided tonight that I am feeling like "journaling" so here goes.  I am so glad to have last week behind me.  As most of you know I teach at a gym and about every three months or so we have a launch where we do the latest releases of all of our formats.  This time around I was launching four different programs and while I love all of them - it was a ton of work and consumed my week (I think it ended up being 12 classes or so but after about 8 who really cares?)  This is just one of the pictures from Bodypump where Lori and I went on a rock concert around the world.  It was a lot of fun.  Thanks Lori for helping me out!

There has been a lot going on besides the gym as well.  Jay was very excited this past weekend to take Mason and Brock on the Father and Sons campout.  They had a fabulous time with their Dad as usual, and I enjoyed a night with just Talon and me.  They said they saw a raccoon, squirrels and a dead horse although Jay was not so sure:)

Below is a picture of Easter.  The boys were able to go on many Easter egg hunts, including one at home, one at Grandma Janet's house and one at Aunt Lori's house.  You could say they are spoiled rotten!
I had to throw in this picture of Brock.  He is such a fun kid and always has me cracking up with his deep little voice.  Tonight he about broke my heart when he told me that he had no friends at the gym.  He is not quite as social as his older brother Mason but he is a heartbreaker.  He is doing well in preschool and loves to go see Miss Tiffany.  Their preschool teacher is awesome and they come home knowing all kinds of interesting things.
Okay - so I always made fun of those Moms that said they cried when their children went to kindergarten.  I CANNOT believe that Mason will be in kindergarten in the fall!  It makes me want to cry right now.  We are hoping that he will get into Franklin in the fall and take all of that knowledge from Miss Tiffany into school.  He is a very active child and keeps me laughing all day.  If only his teeth would come in!
And then there was Talon.  I can't believe my baby is ONE!  It just seems to go faster and faster with each one.  Talon is crazy and spastic.  That is the only way to describe him.  He is little and fast.  He looks way too small to do the things he does.   He reminds me a lot of Mason and is very headstrong.  Below is a picture of him at the boys' fieldtrip to the grocery store and he had to wear a hairnet.  You can tell he was really happy about that.  He is an easy kid though and has made the transition from two kids to three very easy on his Mommy.  Anwho - just a quick update and maybe I will feel like "journaling" again in another 6 months!

Cruisin

So I can't decide between facebook and blogging.  Facebook seems to be a bit easier for me to use but since I have a few extra minutes I thought I would talk about our vacation from last week.  We got to go on a cruise with all of Jay's family (there were 21 of us total including Talon)  We went on Royal Carribean which was fun because I had never been on that cruise line before and also because they had a really good kids program that kept the kids busy from 9 in the morning until 10 at night.  We did typical cruise things - eat, eat and eat!  I tried to be good but after about 5 minutes I said who cares!  It was yummy and I ate myself through the whole week.  Jay and I got off the ship in Catalina Island where he took the boys on a submarine ride and then we also went to Ensenada and walked around and bought a few things.  I got some good sun and had fun with all the family.  Mason and Brock had the best time for sure and wanted to know when we could get on another cruise ship!  Below are just a few pictures from our trip.