First Day of School! 2019-2020

The first day of school was Tuesday. Nathan is now a 6th grade middle schooler! Elizabeth is a 4th grader. 

After I took these pictures, Nathan got on his bike and zoomed away about 7:30 for middle school. He got home and said he had a great day!

I walked to school with Elizabeth and Charlotte the first day. 

Waiting in line with all the 4th graders. 

When both kids got home, I rushed them out for a picture together. 

Benton County Fair and Rodeo

We went to the fair the week before school started. Recently, Elizabeth and I learned the term for a group of bunnies is a "fluffle." We love to look at the bunnies so we set out to see some! 

We especially like the mini lop and holland lops. 

We went to the rodeo. Nathan wore his JJ Harrison shirt. 

JJ did his usual antics. 

A girl who did trick riding rode between poles of fire! 

The bulls trying to knock over JJ. He stayed safely in his barrel. 

Nathan at 12

Nathan is 12!

He is 60.5 inches tall and 108 pounds. He's really been growing quite fast lately. 

When he grows up, he wants to be a sewer worker. He figures since he doesn't have a sense of smell, he can do jobs no one else wants! 

His favorite books are Pendragan, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Leventhumps, Ranger's Apprentice, Brother Band, etc. 

His favorite shows are World War 2 in Color and Star Wars THE Clone Wars.

 His favorite movies are Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars. 

His favorite games to play are Star Wars games and Fisher Cat. He also enjoys playing with legos. 

Nathan started allergy shots a few weeks ago. We are hoping they will help with his oral allergy syndrome and his seasonal allergies. He always gets hives outside when dealing with plants and especially grass. Hopefully, he may be able to eat melons again and a few other fresh fruits and vegetables.  We go once or twice a week until he hits the maintenance phase and then he will go in monthly. 

The only big reaction we had this past year was when Elizabeth spilled her whole glass of milk on the table. It came rushing across the table and spilled down his front. He was covered in hives all the way from his tummy down to his feet where the milk spilled. He ran and jumped in the shower and we gave him benadryl. He wasn't having breathing troubles or acting oddly other than the hives so we did not epi pen. The hives went away pretty quickly after showering and taking the benadryl. It was a sure confirmation that he is still very allergic to milk! 

He is still wearing his permanent dental retainer on top. We will see if he needs 2nd phase orthodontics maybe next year. 

Nathan's been working with Jeremy on several of his handyman jobs so he can learn skills and earn some money! He enjoys doing this. He's also a pro at driving now as well. 

His favorite thing to do is play with legos. He specifically likes to play with Star Wars legos. He still also loves school and doing homework. He is very sad when school is not in session. He is a good student and does very well in reading and math. His teachers tell us he is very respectful and a delight to have in class. He's very helpful and nice to all of the other students. I'm hoping that middle school will not change all of this. 

Here are some things he doesn't like:

1. Dressing up nice
2. Clothes shopping


He's going to start playing the cello when middle school starts in a few weeks. A friend of ours is letting him borrow a cello to see how he likes playing. 

He still enjoys playing tennis. He has moved up to Tournament Prep now and has been playing all summer.  He will continue with tennis lessons when school is back in session. He's also been biking a lot for exercise and has taken to running as well. He likes to go run a mile a few times a week to get good exercise and build up endurance. His fastest time as of right now is 8:40. 

He starts 6th grade in 2 weeks! It's crazy we will have a middle schooler! He will be biking up the hill to school. It's about a 1 mile journey. On a bike, it will get covered pretty quickly. When it gets too icy, I can drive him or he can walk hopefully. 

Nathan's 12th birthday party

Since we were up in Moses Lake for the demolition derby, we had Nathan's 12th birthday at Papa and Gram's house. 

Everybody except Karen (who had to work)  came over for the party! 

 

Jeremy grilled burgers on a neat new grill. We had lots of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables from the slope. Watermelon, cantaloupe, corn and peaches!  

Birthday lunch! 

Nathan opened his presents. He got some great new lego sets, books, science kits, shirts and hats! 

Watching the gift opening. 

A big lego set. 

Nathan with his gifts! 

He had cupcakes with red frosting to show his support for his new middle school. 

Gram also had some of Ronna's yummy pies so we ate some of that too. 

I got a late birthday present too. Kim painted this great picture. I think it looks perfect in this spot!! 

Moses Lake Demolition Derby

Auntie Laura really wanted us to come see the excitement of the Demolition Derby in Moses Lake. It was the night before Nathan's birthday so it was also part of his birthday present! She knew a couple of the drivers and promised fun and even fires! Boy was she right!  There was a terrible fire right in front of us where a car burst into flames and the kid had to jump through the windshield and roll around to put the fire out. It was quite horrifying. I don't want to see that again. Otherwise, it was quite entertaining. 

Flower Farming

We drove up to Royal City for the demolition derby and Nathan's 12th birthday party!

Auntie Laura was flower farming! 

There was a beautiful sunset! 

There was also a big full moon which doesn't look big in this picture but really was! 

Mom's cousin John was also visiting for just the evening from Rhode Island! We had some dinner with him but apparently didn't get any pictures. 

The next morning, we hauled some flowers up to Laura's house. The van made for easy hauling! 

Cute Kittens at Gram's!

The kittens at Gram's are so cute!