No one tells you....

So, no one tells you about the 2nd day of Kindergarten. All the talk is about the first day, pictures, excitement. Jack woke up this morning and said he was not going to school today. "Not today, not any day, never again! I hate Kindergarten!" Sweet. It was 7:15am and I wasn't too hepped up about being up either, but hey, no one will hire a kindergarten drop out right?
With a lot of prodding, begging, pleading, bribing, and a tiny bit of yelling ( really just raising my voice, I don't yell :P ) we made it out the door and had a LOVELY drive to school. Jack told his aide that we was not going to school today. She said, "Ok, I was having trouble this morning too." Then Jack walked in, put his backpack away, smiled and walked to his seat.
WHY GOD? WHY? All before 8am this morning. Yikes.

Jack is a Kindergartner!

Jack is in Kindergarten. I cannot believe it. My stomach was actually twisting and turning as I drove him to school. However, his excitement was so great that I did not cry! Other parents and children were crying, but us Barrons were just beaming away! He was bummed that he couldn't stay all day and have lunch. Oh well, plenty of time for that. He came home with a handprint picture and poem from "The Kissing Hand" book which I of course will frame and keep forever. I love it. Here are a few pictures.

Kindergarten is Here!

Wow! Jack starts Kindergarten tomorrow morning and I cannot believe that day has arrived. I am excited for him and a little bit sentimental and sad. Will the rest of his school days just fly by? I am surprised at myself that I am even a bit sad because so many days I have said to myself, "i can't wait until Kindergarten starts!" Now it is here, and I am wanting a few more days, weeks, years? with my little guy. But his excitement is awesome and I know he is going to love it. Pictures from the first day coming soon.....

Redneck Days.....

So we have been exploring our redneck roots (I'm not sure if we have any...) We went to the state fair in Sedalia on Thursday with the cousins, including Madison, Cha Cha and Muddie. We met up with our friend Lindy and Wyatt. Lindy gave us the insider scoop to the fair! The kids had a lot of fun and were very good. They really enjoyed seeing all of the animals, especially the pigs. Jack enjoyed watching the pigs being judged. He climbed up into the stands and watched the judging like it was something he did all the time. All the while chatting up an older man who was probably shocked at his chattiness!
Friday night we went to the dirt track races at Lakeside Speedway with Uncle Bobby, Aunt Angela, the Hays and us Barrons. It was a lot of fun. Jack and Cam and Caleb wore their "cowboy stuff" and really fit in. They love all of the wrecks and the flying dirt and mud. Helen fell asleep to the sweet sound of the race cars. Poor Helen!
Here are a few pictures.....

Boys!

So, Jack is 5 and therefore fascinated with his anatomy. Wow. He has told me recently, "there is a bone inside my penis." He also found an athletic cup at Target last weekend. He held it up and yelled across the aisle to Muddie, "It is for my penis, it protects my penis." Mom (Muddie) tried to convince Jack that he didn't need it quite yet. He wasn't buying it, he needed it! I tried to tell him that maybe it wasn't big enough, he might need a bigger size that they don't have at Target right now. He announced, "no, it's big enough, my penis is that big Mom." Wow, I am going to use that later in life!!! Helen then said, "I have a penis too." Hello.

Don't they see me sweating?

Helen loves slides!

Jack and Helen like the sprinklers!
Jack said "it tickles my butt". sigh.
Ahh, the rainbow.

I have never been a summer person. I could care less about swimming. But now that I have Jack and Helen, I am forced to embrace summer (with a grimace and dragging my feet sometimes). These two love to be outside even when the heat index is 100 and the humidity is like 150%!!! Where do they get it from? Maybe they just have better cooling systems than me. I don't mind being out if we are in or near water, but really, I would rather stay cool. Jack loves to swim, loves it! And is very good. Helen is a little more like me, slow to the water, she could take it or leave it. She is the "cabana girl" this year at Muddie's, she likes to be on the periphery of the pool and the stairs. She likes to push people in and laugh. Jack, you have to drag Jack out of the pool! Let' s see how the rest of this miserable humidity and 90degree plus days goes....as for me, I am looking forward to cooler weather!
But the joy of watching Jack and Helen playing at the splash park at the Y is worth it. They laugh and run and slide and actually play together (most of the time)! Here are a few pictures from yesterday's afternoon at the Y. Hey, I had to bribe them with swimming so I could work out inside when we were done. We're bribers and we are not ashamed!

Our Trip to the Holt Farm

What a nice day! We drove the scenic drive to Rosendale, MO to visit our friends Lindy, Derek and Wyatt. Jessica was in town and Katie and Keileen came up to visit as well. Derek's boss Leon was gracious enough to take Jack and Helen on a tractor ride. I'm sure Jack talked his ear off. When I asked Leon he said "he had a few questions". I think he was being kind!
We are invited to come back in the fall so they can ride in the combine!