First Day of School 2010

School started in late July…CRAZY!! It was nice to get back to a routine, have some peace and quiet in the house…but none of us was ready to start getting up super early again. But love it or hate it, the first day of school always comes around and at least everyone looked Fabulous!

Liz (Senior!), Megan (Sophomore) & Mikayla (Freshman)...they are all attending "Early Morning Seminary" together now too.

Donovan is the last one in Elementary School! I feel old! I actually took this one at the end of the day because I forgot in all the confusion at the beginning of the day.

Donovan playing with Sophie after school...

Ashley started 6th Grade this year...her first year in Middle School! PJ is a "BIG" 7th grader this year. He's almost 6 feet tall already. I took this one at the end of the day as well...mornings are crazy.

This wasn't the first day of school...but soon after. Both PJ and Donovan picked the same shirt this year, so I had to get a picture of my "twins," and a brief moment when they were being nice to one another :-).

 

PJ gets the Priesthood

PJ was ordained as a Deacon in the Priesthood 2 days after he turned 12.   We had to get it done ASAP so that he could go on the planned Youth Temple Trip to South Carolina (see post) that happened 3 days after his birthday.

Now that he is a Deacon, PJ will be able to pass the Sacrament at church on Sunday.  He was really nervous the first time, but after a few times he looks like a seasoned pro.

Above: Frank was able to confer the Priesthood upon PJ. Bishop Buck stood in.

Above: Frank and PJ

Above: Shayne, PJ and Frank

PJ Turns 12!!!

Wow…PJ is 12!!  He is in the Young Men’s Organization at church now and passing the Sacrament….and he’s already taller than his mom!!!  Next thing you know he’ll be putting in his mission papers!

Above: PJ ready for cake and presents...

Above: Decorating the dining room mirror has become a tradition at our house...

Above: PJ digging into the presents

Above: Donovan, Megan and Liz helping out with the festivities...

Above: PJ blowing out the candles...

Above: PJ always said he wanted a pink tie...so Liz got him one :-).

Above: He also wanted some cool sunglasses...

Above: PJ in his new Georgia Tech jacket...he has decided he wants to go there for college....

VIDEO LINK!!  Click below to watch PJ blowing out the candles…

PJ’s 12th Birthday Party – BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES

Hanging out on Sunday Afternoon

I had a great time recently on a Sunday…just hanging out with the kids…

Above: Human Sandwich!! PJ, Liz & Shayne...

Above: PJ checking out Sophie's crate.

Above: Megan was asking Trivial Pursuit questions of the human sandwich participants.

Above: Liz enjoying being smooshed!

Annual Father Son Campout

Above: Seth

Above: Frank and Donovan (far Right) and some of the other ward members at the campout.

Above: It’s so pretty and green in Georgia.

Above: PJ and his mighty catch!

Above: Seth checking out the live bait.

Pinewood Derby 2009

So, we had a Pinewood Derby in April. I had been to a few but never been in charge of one…so it was a learning experience. We only have a handful of Cub Scouts, so we invited our two 11-year-old Scouts (PJ is one of them) to participate as well. PJ won overall in the bracket that included the 11-year-olds, and Donovan took 2nd in the bracket that just had the Cub Scouts. I didn’t get that many great pictures since I was busy doing other things most of the night. But it was fun…

What Happens During Sunday Naps….

I REALLY love my Sunday afternoon naps. They rejuvenate me and help me prepare for another long week .

Take a look at what PJ, Liz & Megan were up to this last Sunday – since they don’t watch TV on Sundays (all of the evidence was gone when I got up…I had no clue until hours later when I saw the photos .

Above: PJ getting the worst of it.

Above: Look at those evil grins .

Above: Huh?

Above: Oh…King Tut… Pretty fancy.

PJ Turns 11!!!

Oh, my, heck!! PJ is 11 now!! He is turning into such a cool young man. The one thing he wanted to do for his birthday was go to IHOP for breakfast with just Mom and Dad (no competition for attention, I guess). Plus we went out for Pizza a few days later on his actual birthday with Aunt Sandi, Hannah, & Seth.

Above: PJ, Liz & Hannah.

Above: Megan, Mikayla & Ashley.

Above: Seth & Donovan

Above: Frank “where’s my pizza” Nolden.

Above: Hannah, Aunt Sandi & Megan.

Above: Let’s Party!!

Above: “I can’t take all this attention!”

Above: Frank, “Yeah, I can handle 11.”

Above: Oh, yeah…the football I always wanted!

Above: Mikayla and Ashley got him a 3 month subscription to BrainPop.com, an educational website that he really likes.

Above: “I’m a science nut!!”

Above: PJ and his first microscope (that actually works). Aaahhhhh!!!

Above: Megan, “Why isn’t it MY birthday?”

Above: Liz, “It’s gonna be alrigh’ bud.”

Above: PJ, “Oh, yeah. Now I’m stylin.”

PJ has Nose Surgery

PJ had his nose surgery at the end of April. He was pretty nervous (but still being very brave) as they got him ready to go into surgery….but the “happy” medicine they gave him right before he went in helped calm the nerves quite a bit…he doesn’t remember anything that happened after he got that…and we got some really good information out of him .

It was a really short surgery and everything went very well. He had a “cast” on his nose for about 5 days.

PJ has decided to forego the rest of the baseball season and maybe try soccer in the fall .

Above: PJ starting to get nervous…
Above: Ok…really nervous .
Above: “Happy Medicine”…..ahhhhhhhh.
Above: “Ok…I was right…that stunk!”
Above: PJ & his Posse! These ladies took good care of him. He hadn’t eaten all day and he was ready to go get a burger!