Preschool Bound!!

Time for Preschool!! My girls headed off to school last week - yay!! It was a long wait as Austin started a few weeks ago. Finally, it was their turn to head out for school. As Gabriella said, "I went to school today. For real. For real, I went to school." It's like she didn't think anyone would believe her that she went to school. She was so excited to be one of the big kids. And I was so so proud of her.

First things first, we must start every day off with a strong, healthy breakfast! Here's the clan chowing down. Aren't they cute?!?
And now these pics are totally out of order, but oh well. Here's Gabriella in her classroom ready to start the day!

Ummmm...what can I say? That's my Gab.
Dropping my Gabriella off at school!! Love you, girl!!
And here's my big girl, Ashlyn off to her first day too!

These crazies had a hard time sitting still for an early morning picture (this is at seven in the morning, you know)

The girls are getting ready to head in with their buddy, Lucy.
And of course, Grandma had to stop by and see the girls before they took off. She was as teary as I was!!
The girls had a great day. We are still getting use to being back on schedule, but things are going great. We are super duper busy these days, but still find time to snuggle up here and there. Lucas and I are adjusting to having 3 mornings a week with just us - he would prefer to have some playmates I think....maybe a puppy? hahahahaha - no way. I think it's going to be a great school year!!

New traditions are the best!

Ok, so I'm a little behind on posting...with three kids in school now my days are flying by like you wouldn't believe. I feel like I wake up and an hour later it's time for bed again! How does that happen? Austin is already on week 3 of Kindergarten and the girls started preschool today. My babies are growing up! More on that on the next post though. Tonight I need to rewind and show some fun picks of our newest hopeful tradition - Stonewall Pizza the night of the first day of school. We went to our favorite place, known to us as the "Towney bar". We went with our BFF's the Hudson's and the Punswicks and had a blast with all the kids. It was a great way to kick off the school year this year and we hope to continue it on for the next 12 years...holy moly.
Anyway, got some fun picks so thought I better share.
Let's start with this cute couple - me and my hubs!
And all the chillins...well...most of them...

Silly, silly girls! Ash, Gab and Lucy.
Messy, messy boys. Love me some chocolate chip cookies. Sam and Lucas are best buds.


Waiting oh so patiently for some pizza...and disregard the beer on the kid table...oops...
Our big studs.
And the misses....
So, there you have it. That's what it looks like when we go out to dinner with our friends and have to get a table for 17. It can be done!!! What a great day!

Crazy Homemade.

I have a new obsession. Homemade everything. I have been going crazy reading blogs, reading food labels and have learned that a lot of what we eat is totally foreign - meaning you can't even read most of the words on the labels. I decided I'm not going to buy that stuff anymore - or at least not much. I have been making all my own bread, my own sweet treats (including brownies today which were awesome. I will never buy another box) and I have even been making my own crackers! The crackers seem to be taking a few tries to get the hang of, but my last batch tasted just like cheezits, even had the right texture and crunch. The only thing that was lacking was the fluorescent orange coloring. I had to explain to the kids that those crackers aren't really orange from the cheese....all the kids enjoyed them and so did I. And what really goes in cheezeits? Let me tell you - whole wheat flour, butter, cheddar cheese and water. Yes, that's it. Now, go read your cheezit box and see what's in theirs...yikes...I just want to feed my family good, wholesome food - yes, it takes some extra time, but it is so much cheaper and SO worth it. I love that I know exactly what I am giving my kids, especially with Lucas who has the peanut allergy - I never have to worry about it. Does that mean we'll never have another ritz cracker? Doubtful, but I will do what I can to feed my family right - that's my job.
So, I made my first school lunch tonight - and for some reason it brought a little tear to my eye. Just another reminder of the fact that my kids are growing up. Tomorrow will be Austin's first full day at school - he'll be gone from 7:30 until 3:15 - wow! What a long day. Here's what I put together for lunch #1....homemade oatmeal bread with nothing on it (that's how he likes it and it is sooooo yummy), some colby jack cut into sticks, blueberries, yogurt stick, handful of nuts and a homemade brownie and water to drink (or plain milk if he chooses to get one at school). That is one good lunch if you ask me. And I feel good about what I am sending him to eat and he's excited about it too - he helped me pack it. So that's it for day one lunch. I have been following several blogs that show healthy fun things to pack in kids lunches so they won't eat the processed junk at school everyday. Very inspiring people out there that have great ideas. And now it's off to bed so we can roll out early - it's a school night you know!

12 more years til college...

Today marked this first real day of Austin's educational career. Day one of kindergarten!! So cool. He marched into that kindergarten room like he owned the place. He came home all smiles and even told me about his day. I think it's going to be a great year. And this morning I had to wake up all 4 kids to get ready - it was like sweet revenge after having them come in and wake me up every single morning for the last 5 and 1/2 years. It was nice to be the one to jiggle them awake this morning and tell them to "rise and shine"! The morning actually went very smoothly and I had everyone ready to go on time. We'll see if day 2 goes as smoothly as today did. Austin told me this afternoon, "mom, I didn't know you were going to leave me there that long." Funny, they only had a half day - wait til Monday kiddo!! And the very first comment at pick-up, "mom, we go to have recess!" Ahhh to be 5 again...
Here's Austin finding his name to hang his backpack.

Hangin' with his buddies, Emma and James W.
Cheesy smile at his desk.
Time to get to work kids!

Here's to a successful school year!!
And now if preschool would just get started...not til Sept. 7...
Cheers!

{One last day of summer}

I can not believe our last day of summer is almost here. What a great summer we had too!! No, we didn't go on some fancy vacation, but let's have a little re-cap of what we DID do during our Staycation 2010...
-tons and tons and tons of swimming (of which the kids started out hardly going underwater, and now we can't keep them above water, including Lucas)
-went camping 3 times (and still hoping to go more before winter)
-went to World's of Fun and had BLAST even if it was 105 degrees that day
-Austin lost 4 more teeth
-had several BBQ's with friends and family
-went to my cousins wedding
-had a very successful garage sale
-2 weeks of swim lessons
-Austin and Ashlyn did Bible School
-Austin did basketball camp and football camp (loved it)
-The kids and I took a road trip to Manhattan for a slumber party at Callie's (SO FUN)
-We finished putting up cabinets in the kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (pics later)
-All the kids got to stay out at the Turner farm a few times
-ate lots of s'mores
-took all the kids to see Toy Story 3
-had lots of play dates with friends
-went to Kaleidescope 3 times
-lots of home cookin'

So, I think we kept plenty busy. Definitely enjoyed sleeping in and having lazy mornings in our pj's. I may just miss that the most. Austin will be starting Kindergarten on Thursday - such a big kid now. He looks mighty handsome in his school uniform - pictures will definitely be posted on Thursday - after I stop bawling because my baby is off to school. It's hard to believe he will be gone all day long - it makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I am so proud of who he is and can't wait to get the school year started - he is going to love it. The girls will also be heading off to preschool, but not until sept. 7. I can't wait to see what Gabriella will think of school - I think she is going to change a lot this year so it will be interesting to see who she becomes. I guess I feel like I am entering a new phase of life a little bit. The kids are getting older. At least I still have my little Lucas - who is SO cute. Love that boy so much, this age is so much fun. He thinks everything is awesome and he is quite the talented dancer - I have got to get it on video. He can really bust a move.
Now it's time to hang with my hubs - enjoy your last days of summer!!

Staycation time.

Summer is flying by as this is the last day of July - how did that happen?? We have been trying to figure out a way to go on vacation with the kids this summer, but everything is so expensive, even when you try and make it cheap that we have decided to do the ever-popular stay-cation. Shawn took this next week off (minus Monday) so we are going to try and do some fun stuff with the kids and WORK ON THE KITCHEN REMODEL (insert angel voices singing). Yes, Shawn is planning on tearing out the other half of the kitchen and putting in new cabinets on Wed. I won't hold my breath...time will tell. We are also headed to Worlds of Fun on Tuesday with some friends - should be a blast - the kids are counting down the seconds. Mostly, I'm looking forward to spending some much needed time with Shawn - he's putting in an unreal amount of time at work and definitely deserves some time off.
So, raise your glasses....here's to Stay-cation 2010!!

Finally some new pics!

I am finally going to show you some pics! Nothing too fabulous, but I know I haven't blogged a bunch this summer and I haven't posted many pics so hopefully you can get your fill of the Turner fam today. They are really in no particular order...such is life around here...
We will begin with Lucas riding a nice pink bike. This will surely go in the slide show at his high school graduation.



Me and my Gabs.
My beautiful girls...best friends!!
And my cute cute boys.
Here we are at the annual Ohio Days in Waverly - the kids favorite time of year! They love the parade and carnival - and this year I believe we got to bed around 11pm that night...
Lucas's first carnival ride!!
Lucas officially has more teeth than Austin. Austin has lost 5 teeth so far and has a loose one still! Gotta love the toothless smile! Tooth #1 was lost at Best friend Joey's house, #2 daddy pushed out, #3 Lucas knocked out, #4 fell out while camping and going down a slide, and #5 was lost at basketball camp when he missed a ball and it hit him in the mouth (proud, yes.)
Ashlyn and Lucas - they seem to look alike here...don't you think?
I am so excited I can get Gabriella's hair up in pig tails - she is so stinkin' cute!!
My babies...Lucas and Gabriella with their blankies.
Happy Birthday, mom!!
Austin loves being a big brother.
Gabba Gabba!
And that's a little of what we have been up to the past couple weeks. We've spent a lot of time at the pool - the kids have improved their swimming like you wouldn't believe. Austin is lovin' the slides. We are hoping to get another camping trip in before the summer comes to an end. And Shawn is taking a week off in August - yipee!! I am hopeful we will get some kitchen remodel done that week - time will tell. As for now, I have 3 kids at the farm so me and Lucas are doing some bonding - and we are loving it. We got to snuggle bug after nap time today and it was awesome. It's so fun to get to spend time with just one kiddo here and there. And now I am going to enjoy the quiet!