It's been a year already!

Here's our little warrior boys enjoying a summer afternoon in our back yard! I was worried about how to keep them busy all summer and then all of the sudden it was time for school to start.

August 30th was our one year anniversary for adopting the boys. Ray and I were both amazed a year went by so quickly and still in awe of how well the boys have adapted to their new situation. Jake has grown six inches and Riley has grown three inches since we adopted them. All in all, I think we have done really well adapting as a family and the boys love their Grandma and Grandpa's and all of their cousins.

We did a lot of fun things this summer including camping, boating, swimming, festivals, Bible school, an amusement park, a 4-H fair, and trips to the zoo. The boys started off their summer vacation by taking swimming lessons at the community pool. They both did great and can swim under water. They also went to a gymnastics day camp and a sports day camp through our parks department. We read a lot of books from the library and played with our neighbor kids, Jenna, Jake, and Madison.

One of the highlights this year was traveling to Oklahoma with my mom on spring break to see our relatives. It was a first "vacation" for the boys and Grandma was very generous to take us with her and spring for hotels with swimming pools! The boys loved meeting all of their new relatives and we stayed with my cousin who lives outside of Oklahoma City on a big chunk of land. The boys had a great time running around their property and playing in the woods. We wish Ray had been able to come with us but he wasn't able to take vacation time for spring break this year. Hopefully next year.

The boys experienced their first taste of amusement park rides this year and of course they loved it. I think they went on the roller coaster about seven times. These boys are amazing on how they aren't afraid to try new things. They just walked right in to bible school and day camps, ready to make new friends and try something new. We are so proud of them.

They were starting to get bored by the end of August and there seemed to be more fighting. It's just lovely looking out the back door and see them on the ground wrestling, and pounding on each other! I do think I am adapting to being a mom to boys and I am learning to deal with the "boy" stuff like fighting, burping, farting, etc. All the stuff that makes their papa proud....

School started on August 21st and this year they are going to a "magnet" school that specializes in communications. The school has it's own tv studio and produces videos and newspapers. It is not an "ESL" English Second Language school, but we think Riley and Jake will be able to keep up. Riley is in third grade and Jake goes to afternoon kindergarten. So far I am spending my "alone time" afternoons trying to catch up on all the things I let slide this summer!

We are now mini-van driving, soccer parents. Yes, we traded in our Explorer for a mini-van and we have soccer practice three nights a week and games on Saturdays. It's nice to have the van for traveling, and with two kids and a dog, we needed the room. Just that neither Ray or I were too excited about driving a van! Oh well, if you can't beat them, you might as well join them!!

Check out some new pictures from this summer at: http://mysite.verizon.net/res08a93/rayandpam/id36.html