Riley James Glenn Hampton

My brother Roddy and his wife Tricia had their baby boy Monday at 3:07am. Riley James Glenn Hampton was 7 lb 12 oz 19 in. Congrats!!!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

Today was Clifford's first day of kindergarten! I don't know who was more excited (and anxious)-him or me! We started the morning off with the boys waking up at 6:30am (normal for them). I made oatmeal and homemade blueberry muffins for breakfast. Clifford always wakes up in the morning saying 'I'm starving', yet he doesn't like to eat breakfast super early. Today was no different; he didn't want to eat all of his breakfast. I explained to him that he wouldn't get snacks at school like he did in preschool, and he would have to wait to eat again until lunch. After eating his muffin, he took a shower and got dressed. He decided to wear a new pair of jeans and his new 'ninja turtle' shirt. Once Clifford was dressed, he was excited to get going. School starts at about 8:35am; so he had about an hour to kill before we could leave. When it was time to go, Pete came home from work to pick us up and off we went. Clifford got into his class line, where he'll line up every class day. We walked with his class as they went to their classroom. Clifford did just fine. Pete let him know we were going to leave; Clifford waved bye, then turned his attention back to his teacher. I was a little sad. I didn't get a hug or kiss goodbye; there was no break downs of 'mommy don't leave!" (which, I know, is a good thing). I cried just a little out in the hallway where Clifford couldn't see me. It was tough. I swear, it feels just like yesterday he was a baby. Now he's in school!! The day went on ever so slowly for me. Once 3:05pm came, Clifford came out all smiles, slightly exhausted from his first day of school.

Clifford and his lunch! (turns out I will be tailoring his lunch a bit. he only ate his chips, juice and ding dong for lunch, skipping the sandwich and applesauce!)
Clifford wanted to pack up his own lunch
A hearty and healthy breakfast before school!
Clifford and Daddy
Proud mommy!
walking to school
waiting for school to start
Clifford in his classroom (he's sitting in the very front of the room)
Clifford waiting to be picked up from school
My big boy survived his first day of kindergarten!

Labor Day Weekend

To end our summer vacation, we went out on a backpacking trip back to Dorothy Lake. Daniel and his boys went along with us. The previous weekend, Pete, Daniel and Jessica went on a day hike to pack up and hide some of the camping gear, just to make the trip a little lighter for the guys since their goal was to paddle out to 'blueberry island' (the island they discovered and nicknamed that, since it's full of blueberry bushes). They stashed the raft and paddles in one spot, then put our tent, sleeping pads and other misc gear on the island itself. We crossed our fingers and prayed everything would still be there (which, luckily, it was). The hike itself was actually easy and short, considering the adult packs were packed to the rim. This was Dominick's first hiking trip using his first 'big boy' backpack (the other three boys just have their hydration packs). Dominick did pretty good; he only complained a little about the weight of his pack. Out of the three adult packs mine was the lightest (yet still very heavy), and both Pete and (mostly) Daniel were sweating like pigs on the trail. When we made it to our first stop, we were relieved to find that our raft was still in its hiding spot. The only issue with it was sometime during that week a rodent decided to take a nibble out of it. Pete had some 'fix anything' tape and patched the hole up. Once the raft was inflated, we loaded Daniel up with all our gear and he paddled off to the island while Pete, boys, and I finished hiking up the trail to our second location. We waited for Daniel to get to the island, unload the gear, then start the process of paddling everyone over to the island. Once we were all on the island, the fun began. The boys ran around and played; Pete and Daniel fished; and I picked blueberries. We stayed from Friday until Sunday morning. Other than the rain that started up on Saturday night (and didn't stop) and the long process of getting back and forth from the island, it was an awesome trip.



can you find the frog in this picture?













Daniel takes his fishing very seriously. And it shows-just look at the pictures! (I like making fun of him with all the different poses he does with the fish). On this trip he caught 5 trouts. He let each boy take a turn reeling in their own fish. Pete, however, didn't have very good luck catching any fish. UNTIL....







Pete finally caught a fish! He was so excited. Daniel climbed down to the waters edge with the net to catch it. While Pete is reeling it in, he makes the comment, "I think it's a big one, it's fighting me" (and it did look like it was hard for Pete to reel this fish in).

Pete caught a big one alright....he caught a stick!!! Daniel and I were laughing so hard at Pete. I tried to convince Pete to bring the stick home and let me mount it to the wall in our house so we could show off the 'big fish' he caught.
Poor Damien. First, he ended up with blisters on the back of his heels (one of which was huge and popped). Daniel had to clean the sores a couple of times each day, which Damien didn't like. Then, Damien accidentally cut his thumb on Daniel's knife. It took a while for the bleeding to stop.



The best part of this camping trip was the food. We ate good! Daniel caught 5 trout, which he fried up with some sauces and seasoning (yum!); Pete made blueberry muffins for breakfast, then a blueberry cobble for dessert using the blueberries I picked. One of our dinners (pic below) consisted of mashed potatoes and tacos!!

Meet-n-Greet

Last Thursday Clifford went to school to meet his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Castelle. He found his table (he's at the 'red' table). There are a few of the neighbor kids in his class. He had a few tasks to do before meeting his teacher, such as writing his name, finding the reading area and class bathroom, and having his picture taken. Once all was completed, he met Mrs. Castelle. He didn't really talk much when she asked him a few questions; he just shrugged his shoulders and mumbled short answers. Tuesday (tomorrow) is his first day at school. I seriously can't believe Clifford is old enough to go to school! Tomorrow will be a (slightly) tough day for me.