Friday August 26th, Payton started school. I still can't believe that this time with him has gone by so fast. I remember thinking about school when he was a baby but that time frame seemed so far away and not something that I would even have to give much thought to for a long time. Well, now it seems like it has just flown by and he is growing UP!
This was such a bitter sweet day. Sweet for Payton because he has been waiting for this day to come for so long, but bitter for me because I missed him like crazy. Payton has become quite a good helper at home and takes such great care of his siblings when my hands are full. I have gotten used to him doing all sorts of things to help lift my burden... so it will definitely take some getting used to on the days that he is off learning new things. I am grateful that he only goes to school every other day so I still do get to have him around a lot. I will be able to ease into the thought that next year he will be gone more. Last week the elementary held an open house to come visit the new school and meet your teacher/check out your classroom. Silver Trail Elementary is brand new and this is the first year of school there. It looks so fun and meeting his teacher, seeing his classroom, the cafeteria, the library, and the music room, oh yeah-don't forget the playground...sure made it seem real that my Payton will be spending much of his time there instead of being at home with us. His teacher seemed like the sweetest lady and I know this will be great for him!
This was such a bitter sweet day. Sweet for Payton because he has been waiting for this day to come for so long, but bitter for me because I missed him like crazy. Payton has become quite a good helper at home and takes such great care of his siblings when my hands are full. I have gotten used to him doing all sorts of things to help lift my burden... so it will definitely take some getting used to on the days that he is off learning new things. I am grateful that he only goes to school every other day so I still do get to have him around a lot. I will be able to ease into the thought that next year he will be gone more. Last week the elementary held an open house to come visit the new school and meet your teacher/check out your classroom. Silver Trail Elementary is brand new and this is the first year of school there. It looks so fun and meeting his teacher, seeing his classroom, the cafeteria, the library, and the music room, oh yeah-don't forget the playground...sure made it seem real that my Payton will be spending much of his time there instead of being at home with us. His teacher seemed like the sweetest lady and I know this will be great for him!
He looked so handsome in his new outfit. I took him shopping a few days before to pick out a new shirt for his big day. For the most part he picked out his own shirt. After several tries at different stores we finally settled on this. I tried to get him to get the one with green and blue stripes (Green is his favorite color after all) but for some reason he fell in love with this yellow one. I agreed because it was cute too and I wanted him to like what he was wearing on the BIG day.
The night before school started I gave Payton a new fresh haircut and Mckay gave Payton a blessing for school. Of coarse the other kids wanted one as well. Just a funny little side note: Mckay was teasing the kids and asking them what their middle names were, for a while Taylor has loved Lightning McQueen. So sometimes we tease Taylor and call him McQueen. But when Mckay asked Taylor what his name was, he quickly responded Taylor McQueen Swensen. We all started laughing and had to re-teach him that Ethan is really his middle name. Then at bedtime Payton told us that this was going to be the best day of his life. He must have been excited because he ended up waking up at 11:00 PM wondering if it was time to go yet. I told him he needed to go back to sleep because he still had a while until the morning and it was still dark outside. He then wanted me to show him on my hands how much longer until school started. That morning when Mckay went in to wake him up he popped up and yelled, "YEAH" and got ready to go. Here are the kids before Payton headed off to school. It will be an adjustment for them as well, because Payton is an awesome BIG BROTHER!
All morning I was trying to fight back the tears and stay strong for Payton (I know, I am a baby, its not like I am saying good bye forever). I felt like Nemo's protective Dad-"The DROP-OFF"!!! It is weird knowing that no one knows this little boy as well as his family does, but yet we are not the ones that he is going to spend most of his day with. I will admit that just seeing Payton so excited for this new chapter in life made it easier on me. If he would have been a wreck, I would have fallen apart!
Mckay took an hour that morning to take Payton to school with us. It was great to have him there for moral support. (I had to look closely at this picture because it captures just how much Payton loves his siblings. Here he is taking the time to rub little Brielle's head before going into the school.) 
Payton wanted to show us that he knew the way to his classroom so we followed him inside, where he found his cuby and then headed outside to line up with the rest of his classmates. 
The night before school started I gave Payton a new fresh haircut and Mckay gave Payton a blessing for school. Of coarse the other kids wanted one as well. Just a funny little side note: Mckay was teasing the kids and asking them what their middle names were, for a while Taylor has loved Lightning McQueen. So sometimes we tease Taylor and call him McQueen. But when Mckay asked Taylor what his name was, he quickly responded Taylor McQueen Swensen. We all started laughing and had to re-teach him that Ethan is really his middle name. Then at bedtime Payton told us that this was going to be the best day of his life. He must have been excited because he ended up waking up at 11:00 PM wondering if it was time to go yet. I told him he needed to go back to sleep because he still had a while until the morning and it was still dark outside. He then wanted me to show him on my hands how much longer until school started. That morning when Mckay went in to wake him up he popped up and yelled, "YEAH" and got ready to go. Here are the kids before Payton headed off to school. It will be an adjustment for them as well, because Payton is an awesome BIG BROTHER!All morning I was trying to fight back the tears and stay strong for Payton (I know, I am a baby, its not like I am saying good bye forever). I felt like Nemo's protective Dad-"The DROP-OFF"!!! It is weird knowing that no one knows this little boy as well as his family does, but yet we are not the ones that he is going to spend most of his day with. I will admit that just seeing Payton so excited for this new chapter in life made it easier on me. If he would have been a wreck, I would have fallen apart! Mckay took an hour that morning to take Payton to school with us. It was great to have him there for moral support. (I had to look closely at this picture because it captures just how much Payton loves his siblings. Here he is taking the time to rub little Brielle's head before going into the school.) Payton wanted to show us that he knew the way to his classroom so we followed him inside, where he found his cuby and then headed outside to line up with the rest of his classmates. So here he is being so brave and ready to go inside and learn!! After getting a KISS from Mommy-while he still doesn't mind! This was another hard time because there was a set of twins who were in different classes and were having a hard time separating from each other. They were crying and I saw Payton being strong and ready to go, as if he had done this before. Me on the other had, I wanted to cry right along with the twins because I too was being separated from my little Buddy! I held back until we were walking away after the children all went inside and Mckay turned to ask me how I was doing. Why does it always happen when people are trying to be sympathetic? I had a few moments where I would get teary eyed but that did me in!!!
All day I was thinking about Payton and looking forward to when he came home so we could talk about his day. I am not sure he even knows how much I missed him while he was gone, but when I saw the bus I went outside to greet him but he didn't get off at the bus stop! Then I noticed that there was a little boy running down the sidewalk in the distance. Sure enough it was Payton in the yellow stripped shirt that he picked out. He had gotten off the bus too early, over by the neighborhood playground instead and was running all the way back home in the heat. Here he is, red-faced and happy to be back home. Now he knows where he gets off and is a pro. I know that Kindergarten will be great for Payton, it is just hard having him grow up so fast! He loves this new chapter in his life though and that makes me happy too!
Taylor playing in the water. 
I do have to keep an eye on him because he will occasionally fall and need help standing back up. 
Payton was usually there to help too.
Payton is a good swimmer and thinks he can do just about anything!
5 weeks old
She is 
Anytime I lay her on the floor she is immediately swarmed by
McKenzie was in for the socializing but still enjoyed it when it was her turn to bowl.
My
