So my kids decided they really wanted to go CRAZY for this years "Crazy hair day"! It started with Kyson wanting a real mohawk. He didn't want to just comb his hair into a mohawk, he wanted the sides shaved off. I figure it's only hair, it will grow back. Plus, after today, he will have to have a buzz which makes my like easier. No more combing hair for a while.
Then Jaxon decided it would be cool to look like an old man and asked me to shave the top of his head. I was a little hesitant about this one because it's bald! I'm not sure Jaxon is going to be ok with it tomorrow when it's not crazy hair day. He looked awesome though and now he knows what he wants to be for halloween. Jake wasn't as brave. He didn't want to shave anything. He just wanted blue and red stripes. He looked cool too. I wish I could be at school to see what the other kids think of their CRAZY HAIR!
This weekend we spent some time with my family doing some work at the cabin. My Dad rented a wood chopper and we chopped tons of wood. Everyone loved running the macine.
At first the kids didn't want to help but their attitudes changed quickly! They loved waiting for the wood at the wood chopper and then carrying it over to the wood shed to be stacked up.
They thought it was even more fun when we put them in an assembly line to pass the wood from the chopper to the shed. They got pretty fast at passing the wood along the line.
Jaxon and Jadon running the wood chopper together
After we chopped all the wood, we did the annual throwing of the wood up to the balcony to stack it on the deck for winter. We all have great memories of doing this over the years. We now have a nice big stack of wood on the balcony and a shed almost full of wood for the winter. We all had a great time together and it makes me feel so good to see my kids work. I'm excited to use the wood for fires in the winter! 
One of the last things that Jaxon has to do, before he earns his WEBELOS badge, is setting up a tent and sleeping in it. We have been camping several times this summer but we don't do tents when we camp. We decided he could set up a tent in the backyard and sleep in it. At first he and Jadon were going to do it, but as soon as we started talking about it, all the other kids wanted to do it to. We set up two tents and all the kids started out outside. It didn't take too long for Katie to come inside to tell us she didn't want to sleep out there. Kyson only came in once to tell us he heard a scary noise. I went back out with him to check out the noise. Turned out to be crickets. He stayed out the rest of the night, sleeping safely next to Jadon. The kids had a fun time out there and Jaxon wanted to sleep out there again tonight. Too bad it's a school night.
Tonight we went on a great family bikeride. We decided to ride our bikes to Arctic Circle for dinner. While we were eating dinner, Jadon said we should keep riding our bikes on to the gas station to get a treat. Somehow he talked us into riding our bikes to the gas station by Sunset Ridge. As we were pushing ourselves uphill the whole way, I just kept trying to remember that the way home would be downhill the whole way. We finally made it to the gas station and everyone was so excited to get their treats. The ride home was fun and everyone, except me, was really brave going downhill. I think our total bikeride was between 6-7 miles and it took 3 hours (including the time we were eating dinner and getting a treat). We had a great time together and can't wait to do it again. This time not in the dark!
I can't believe that it took me so long to post about the first day of school. It's been a crazy 3 days and I didn't have two minutes to sit and write this post until now. This is an exciting year for our family. Kierra is in 7th grade and going to middle school with Jadon. She has been very excited and seems to like her teachers and classes. 
Jadon is in 9th grade which, I guess, is considered being in highschool. That makes no sense to me. If they consider it highschool, then put them at the highschool. He is taking 3 honors classes this year so he is going to be really busy.
Kierra waiting for the bus. Jadon didn't get in the picture since I took one of him just like this when he was in 7th grade. I love that Kierra didn't care one bit that I went to the bus stop with her.
Later that morning, Jaxon and Jake were ready to go to school about an hour early. Kyson was ready to go to but he was only going to meet the teacher. His first day was the next day. We have a huge change for the boys this year. They are going to a new elementary and riding the bus. They have been so excited to start at their new school.
Mitchel, our other son, Jaxon and Jake waiting for the bus.
Kyson and Taeya were lucky enough to get in the same class this year. They went to meet the teacher at the same time and we all think their new teacher, Mrs. Brown, is going to be great! The new school is really nice. My favorite part about it is the big clock and the bell. You can't see the bell in the picture but there is a big old fashioned school bell over the clock. It looks so cool. I am excited for the kids to be back in school so that our family can get back into a routine. After 3 days of following the bus to school and making sure everyone gets where they are suppose to be, I feel confident that the kids know what they are doing and are well on their way to a great school year!
Tuesday my Dad took some of us to Thanksgiving Point. The kids had a great time together! Kyson had a little map that had all the things they could do listed with numbers on them. He wanted to do everything in order and he kept the map in his hands the whole time. They loved going through the mazes, rolling down the grassy hills, making a puppet show and especially playing in the Noah's Ark water area. After Thanksgiving Point, we went to McDonald's for lunch. I had a great time with my 3 youngest kids. Thanks for the invite Dad!
