Potty Trained?

Well earlier this week (Wednesday) Ryan's preschool teacher Ms. Kayla called to let me know that Ryan told her that "tomorrow" he was going to wear big boy underwear to school. So she decided I should know that!! Anyway when "tomorrow" came, he wasn't as excited as he was the day prior. I let him know that Ms. Kayla was excited for him to come to school with the big boy pants on. I drove him to school that day so he wouldn't pee on the 45 minute bus ride. When I picked him up of course he had on a different pair of pants. He apparently had 1 accident at school. This all occured on Thursday. Today it is Sunday and has had no additional accidents. He has even done all #2's in the toilet. Thank heavens!! He really enjoyed going potty at the farm yesterday since Matt let him pee on the tractor tire. Good times!

Matt's Office Party - Kentucky Style

Today was Matt's "End of Summer" Work Party. It was held at a co-workers house that sits on 70 acres.

We started the event by eating yummy ribeye sandwiches and all other kinds of pot luck foods. Then the kids decided they wanted to fish. So Matt broke out the Batman, Scooby Doo and Spongebob fishing poles and hit the pond. The kids were pulling out fish left and right. They started by catching bluegill, but later they were pulling out catfish. Matt did not enjoy getting the catfish off the hooks. The bluegill were much easier. There were a few other men helping out with the fishing duties, but of course Matt was right in there helping them out. Ethan lost interest after catching 5 or so fish, but Ashton kept entertained for a very long time. If you know my kids you'd know that is quite the opposite of the norm. By the end of the night most of the children at the party had caught a few fish. One of Matt's co-workers named Brad helped out a lot with the kids. You will see him in some of the photos.

Another fun activity at the party was the paddle boat. The kids really enjoyed cruising around in it.

MaryAnn (the host) also had her John Deere tractor out for the kids to play on. Ryan thought that was really neat. The only problem Ryan had was he didn't get to see the cows eat hay in the barn. Oh well, he was able to see them eat the hay in front of our eyes!!!

All in all it was a great day. The kids acted perfect, the temperature was just right, and there was yummy food. What else could you ask for??

Oh - and Brinley sat in her stroller nearly the entire time without making a peep (except to say "moo" over and over)

First day of School for the Little Guy!

Today was the first day of school for Ryan. He attends the local county Preschool that is run by the school district. He attended it last year too. He was a little hesitant about going this year, but when he saw his bus driver from last year he was good to go!!! This year they will focus on helping him with his speech!

First Day of School for the Big Boys!

Well school is back in session! The boys started on Friday, August 8th. Yes, a Friday. Isn't that crazy? Anyway, Ethan is in 2nd grade and Ashton started Kindergarten. They both have wonderful teachers and are excited about being back. The only bummer is they begin their school day at 7:25am. A little too early I think! Here are a few pictures of the big day!

I didn't say they were BIG FISH!

Today we went fishing to Cedar Creek Lake near Berea, KY. It was a fun place! The kids caught fish left and right. Every cast they had a bite, no joke! The only problem was all the litter on the ground around us. It was pretty disappointing that people can't just throw away their trash. Ethan and Ashton caught at least 10 fish each and Ryan caught his first fish ever! It was a wonderful day!

Clayburn Family Reunion - Gatlinburg, TN

We just returned from a fabulous week long vacation in beautiful Gatlinburg, TN. We went there to celebrate a family reunion with Matt's family. It had been 3 years since we had all been together. They rented a 7 bedroom cabin for the big event. It was absolutely wonderful. We did a lot of fun activities including going to Dollywood 2 days and to Splash Country. We can't wait until 2010 when we will reunite again . . . in Cocoa Beach, FL. Thanks Dennis and Carolyn for the great time!

Ethan's last day of 1st Grade

Here are some photos of Ethan's last day of 1st grade. He received the 100% award from his teacher. She said he does everything 100%! He had a great year! The
first picture is of Ethan and his teacher, Mrs. Smedley. The second picture is of Ethan and his best friend Chase. He lives on our street.