Bugs

Eli informed us this morning that he let a bug crawl up his cast...."to give it a ride". Seriously. Gross.

Rule #937 I shouldn't have to make....no bugs in your cast, Eli.

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride...

 Nobody's gonna slow me down....

Eli's broken arm has not slowed him down a bit. He is still doing everything he normally does which includes writing, drawing, climbing up the side of his bunk beds, jumping off the retaining wall, playing in the sand box, digging in the dirt, looking for bugs.....

Breakfast

Sometimes we take for granted how special it is to go out for breakfast after church and run into Ben's 94 year old Grandpa. 

Best Day Ever

So apparently when you are 4 and you have a broken arm, a camo cast constitutes as "the best day EVER". We were leaving the hospital this morning after Eli got his cast on and he looks at his cast and says "Oh man, this is the best day ever!" He has been grinning from ear to ear ... wonder how long this will last!

Broken Arm

Sometimes when the kids get injured, Ben and I have a hard time deciding if they need medical attention or not. Other injuries, we just know. Tonight was one of those nights. The only discussion was "who is taking Eli to the hospital to address the broken arm". Some things are more obvious than others! 

Eli was playing with his buddy Matthew. I didn't see it, but apparently Eli climbed the chain link fence and jumped off...he didn't land very gracefully apparently. He came home crying and holding his arm - Matthew reported that Eli tripped over the fence. Hmmm....possible more than a "trip" Not sure it's possible to trip over a tall fence :) 

So...

Some X-rays....

And a temporary splint...

And some ice cream. 

This boy has had a rough day! 

Teeth

I forgot how cute toothless smiles are!

And somehow....when no one was looking, we ended up with a 5th grader, a 3rd grader and a preschooler! Holy cow...

Eli has been so excited to start school. He will go every day from 11:30-3:30. 

Here is the daycare school crew

Eden, Eli and Matthew

And this picture is just too cute! Eden looks a bit nervous!

 Waiting for the bus...

 And best friends for life...our neighbor girl, Kami.

And poor Zeke. He felt so left out...he has been carrying around a bookbag since last week. Here he is a daycare sleeping with his bookbag! 

Summer is over....

Summer is officially over and we are back in the swing of school. The kids started school last Thursday...Here are a few of my favorite phone pictures that I haven't shared on here. 

Here are the Kalainoff Boys on Father's Day...Ben was gone for a two week class, so this is the picture we sent him. It makes me laugh...the football, the gun, the bow and arrow, puppy slobber...

Eli has a best friend...his name is Matthew and he lives across the street. He talks about Matthew all the time and can't wait to get home at night so he can  play with him (which is funny because he and Matthew go to daycare together)

 Nashua Water Over the Dam Days activities. 

 And....the pool. We bought a family pass this year and it was perfect. Nashua doesn't have a pool so we have to travel to either Charles City or New Hampton. I was worried we wouldn't get our money worth, but with the summer we had, it more than paid for itself. It was a great summer and with the kids a bit older, we were able to do so  many fun things!

Time

I have no idea where the time goes...

All of the sudden, it is the middle of August and we head back to school. Ben and I started Friday and the kids will start back this Thursday. It is unbelievable how fast this summer went. Even though we say it every summer, it just flew and this year was no exception. Between t-ball four days a week, Ben being gone for two weeks, a short vacation and Ben working construction all summer, it just seems like it went so much faster than other years.

I can't believe how much I have slacked off on this blog. I am determined to make it more a habit and do a better job documenting our life so we have something to remember from this crazy time.

Every day there is something funny that happens. Our kids are at at the best ages....almost manageable....almost. Zeke is hilarious! He has his own thoughts and has quite the sense of humor. He is definitely the clown of the family! He knows he has a captive audience at all times. Eli is getting quite the sense of humor as well. He is growing up so much and becoming a bit easier to parent. There are still some very trying moments, but honestly they are fewer and farther between.

Evan starts football tonight and Isaac starts in a few weeks. Life was crazy before and it is about to get crazier with three in school! Get ready.....