More Summer Fun and Cade goes to Kindergarten

4th of July was rainy this year. We still went to the annual parade by the town of Farragut. It left a lot to be desired but it was still fun being with the Pulvers and Sinks and getting candy. 

Lucy spent most of her naps in the first few months of life in this swing. She would sleep in the most uncomfortable-looking positions and stay like that her whole nap. We would try to prop her back up with a blanket if she looked too uncomfortable...like this.

One summer day the kids and I decided to make a special dinner for when Daddy came home. They thought it was pretty exciting that we were actually lighting candles and turning off the lights. We all "dressed up" for the occasion. Sadie dressed up as Spiderman. :)

Kaitlyn took her job seriously to make everything look just right with ribbons, pretty napkins, and fruit slices on the rim of the glasses. She was the waitress as well.

Cade also dressed up in a cape. It was our family favorite: tuna casserole, fruit, and kool-aid. I wonder what our family favorite meal will be in 10 years from now.

After dinner we had a dance. Daddy took a turn with everyone to swing them around, dip, and twirl.

I helped Kaitlyn put on make-up for the occasion too. Lucy likes to dance and Kailyn loves to hold her any chance she gets.

We couldn't pass up the chance to get free food from Chick-fil-a by dressing up as cows. we learned that next time we have to dress up from head to toe to get a whole meal free. This time we each got a free item.

Miss Lucy Jane and Miss Chloe Jane. Chloe McCormick is just a few months older than Lucy. It's fun to watch them grow together.

Kaitlyn's first day of second grade. She was so cute in planning a week in advance what she wanted to wear and how she wanted her hair. She said she wanted a bun in her hair "like college girls wear theirs". She has always been into fashion. She got the only male teacher in the whole grade, Mr. Nicholson. It ends up that he is our next door neighbor's brother.  

 Cade was thrilled to start kindergarten! We all get to tease Dad about how he spelled kindergarden for his sign. :) Cade had to stagger start so he didn't go on the first day with Kaitlyn. He went once a week, for a half day, on Wednesdays for two weeks. Then he started all day every day the following week. He got Ms. Cleland for his teacher. Christopher, his best bud in the neighborhood is also in his class. Lincoln Hobbs, our other sweet neighbor boy with special needs has Ms. Cleland for his homeroom teacher. It was pretty exciting to go to school and know someone already.

 First time riding the bus for Cade. The bus comes at 6:45. I thought it would be rough for our night owl, Cade, to get up and go on time. He was up as soon as we went in his room.

 This is the second or third day riding the bus. Had to make sure I got a good shot.

 Cade's first time getting off the bus. He was all smiles when he got home. He had been waiting for a long time to start school.

The three school buds. We switched off with Laura to pick the kids up and walk home after school. Sadie was always excited to go get Mekenzie, Kaitlyn, and Cade. Mekenzie was in Kaitlyn's class too. 

 Sadie was posing for a picture in her new dress. She is such a delight! She is strong-willed but she sure lives life to the fullest. She has been such a fun little side-kick with the older kids in school. She is always willing to help me and she loves to do puzzle, read stories, and watch shows. And she LOVES to eat snacks...all the time.

 Daddy has lots of fun holding Lucy in her cheerleading stance. She has got some strong legs.

 Lucy started crawling in August. She is such a happy baby and goes with the flow of the craziness in our house so well.

 She would get a little frustrated when her legs weren't cooperating with her to get her to where she wanted to be. It didn't take her long to master crawling though.

 Kaitlyn loves coming home from school to hold her baby sister. Lucy loves to be with her too.

 When Sadie and I walk up to the bus stop she makes sure to walk on the curb the entire time. Very determined little girl.

Sadie Turns 4, Boating, and Disney

Sadie extended her birthday celebrating from the day of her birthday til the end of the month when we went to Disney World. We started off with a fun get together at the splash pad with some friends.

Sadie got her dream dress up clothes from Grandma Price and Grandma Peterson. Sadie is a sweetheart! She will share anything she has with anyone. She loves her baby sister, Lucy, and greets her each day with a big hug and smile.  She loves playing superheros and dressing up. She keeps up with Cade and Kaitlyn the best she can on her bike and swinging on swings. She loves to puzzle and watch shows. She is a determined soul and knows what she wants when she wants it. We're so happy to have her in our family! She adds a lot of spice! 

The Pulvers took a job in Texas and were moving the end of the summer. We  had a great day out on the boat with them one last time before they sold it. We will always have very fond memories of going out on the pontoon boat eating watermelon, chips an salsa, peanuts and treats, jumping off the back again and again and again, cliff jumping, swimming, tubing, and just having a relaxing time out on the water enjoying the BEAUTIFUL area. 

We had an ongoing game tournament with Karen and Matt. The kids would play and watch shows while we played Uno, 3-13, Settlers, Lucky Under, and others. We got together after the boating outing and had cake for Karen's bitrhday. Then it was game time. Happy memories with these guys!

The end of June Nate had training for work down in Orlando. We decided to make the most of it and have a family vacation at Disney World while there. We started off by driving down late Sunday evening and sleeping in Monday so we could be well rested for Disney the next day. We made a quick trip to Cocoa Beach after sleeping in.

We woke up the next day and packed up for Disney World. It was an adventure getting there after parking and then getting of the tram and shuttle with four kids and a double stroller. We had our work  cut out for us for the day. It was a very fun fun day! We went on as many rides as we could and figured out the fast pass/ stroller pass to where we hardly had to wait in line. I took the Kaitlyn and Cade on Space Mountain thinking they would love it. I forgot it was so fast and so dark the entire ride. Therewere just the three of us in the car and I was in the front. I kept reaching behind me during the ride to make sure the Cade was still there and hadn't been thrown from his seat into space. It was very fun...to me. When I asked how they liked it afterwards Kaitlynsaid "I was scared to death", and Cade said he never wanted to ride that ride again. Maybe in a few years they'll try it again.:) Kaitlyn's favorite ride that day was Splash Mountain and Cade's was Thunder Mountain. 

Sadie came to a point several times during the day where she just didn't want to keep her shoes on or stand in line one more second. This is still one of our all time favorite picture of her. Little Miss Determined!

Meeting the princess was a lot of fun. Cade wanted nothing to do with it and refused to stand by them for the pictures. There really is a magical feeling at Disney. Sadie was in awe of the princesses. Kaitlyn loved it just as much.

We tried to find a good seat and hour before the night parade of lights. We got some ice cream cones and spread out some towels. About 15 minutes before the parade was to start we were told we would  have to find somewhere else to sit because we were sitting by a gate that they would need for people to exit. We were pretty bummed because we thought we had pretty good seats and we had no idea where we would go because it was soooo crowded. One of the workersescorted us to some seating at the very beginning of the parade. It ended up being great because we got to see all the characters up close and not have anyone in our way. Then when the parade was over we were first to follow the parade to the castle for the fireworks show. Sadie was asleep by the time we got to the fireworks and slept till we got to the car.

We were all ready for bed after a day at Magic Kingdom.Even just getting from the car to the hotel was more than they could handle.  Lucy was a trooper and stayed pretty happy the whole day. 

Getting home from Florida we had a great surprise from Grandma Peterson for Sadie. A box of more dress up clothes!