Somehow time has done its thing, and we are now approaching the halfway point of the first quarter of the 2010-2011 schoolyear!
Ryan entered the sixth grade this year, and is checking in at about 5'3" in height and approx. 130 lbs. in weight. School uniforms make shopping fairly easy, but we were surprised to find that our "little" boy would be wearing an 18 husky in pants. Yikes! He will likely be taller than his momma by Christmas. Ryan is taking piano lessons this fall, and hopes to pick up trumpet part way through the school year. He is not doing sports this fall, but focusing on academics (to the best of our ability...haha) and music. It is difficult for us to believe that kiddo #1 is in his last year in the elementary classroom.

Evan has entered the fourth grade, and is getting taller by the minute, it seems! He is a couple of inches behind his brother (maybe not that much), but is built more slender so Ryan still has a little advantage when it comes to wrestling. :) Evan is also taking piano lessons, and hopes to pick up trumpet during the school year. He loves to play football with his friends, and also loves to draw. This is something we didn't realize until he brought home his notebooks from school at the end of last year. They were loaded with his artwork (as well as one picture of Miss America, which he had cut out of the newspaper...but I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that!)

Our biggest change this year was to have Kaitlynn starting first grade. Because I was her kindergarten teacher last year, I was able to spend all of my time with her just as before, only in a little different way. She also was off two days a week, so it was different. Now she is in class full time, and I'm not her teacher (that is a blessing in many ways...). She absolutely loves school, her class work, classroom, and teacher. Kaitlynn is taking violin lessons, spends her extra time playing Barbies, making up songs, and entertaining Allison.

And last, but definitely not least, is our little Allison. In mid-July, she started carrying around last year's edition of the shcool yearbook, naming all of her friends, and missing her school routine. She was more than happy for August 25th to roll around! This photo was taking before I had a chance to comb her hair. One of our most fun things to see is Allison when she first wakes up. Her hair has a ton of body, and it is just very "out there" in the mornings! Allison loves to sing, "play" the piano, tuck a book under her chin and use her arm to "play her violin", and be with her family. She loves life, and is just happy to be a part of whatever is going on. She will be three in November, and although we are regretting the quick passage of time, we know that each stage has its blessings (and other stuff...), and are looking forward to good times with our kids as they grow and mature!

Recently overheard:

Daddy: "Alli, are you a girl or a boy?"

Alli: "I'm not a girl or a boy. I'm a princess!"

A few days later, the same question was posed, and the same response given, so mommy followed up with, "Who is your prince?"

Allison: "Austin Burley."

Evidently she doesn't know that Austin's last name is not Burley, and that she is way too young to have a prince!

So that's the back-to-school update from this branch of the family tree!