The Boys are Back (at School)!

Jaren is in Grade Five this year.  This is the first year that he hasn't been in the same class as his best bud Jaxon.  I think it will really be a big adjustment for him - but also think it could be a good thing.  We shall see!  Good luck in Grade 5 buddy!

Carter is in Grade 4 this year and he is following in his big brother's footsteps - yay, he got the same teacher that Kayden and Jaren both had.  That makes Carter (and me) very happy!  Yay for Grade four!

Group shot of all the elementary dudes!

Tyler is headed to grade one this year.  We are hoping that grade one will be a positive change for him.  Look out Miss N, here comes the youngest Halladay boy!  I hope you are ready!

Watch out world!  Here comes the newest junior high kid!  Yep, that's right, Kayden is in Grade 7 this year.  I can hardly believe it!  He is getting so old AND so big.  He is 5 ft 2 and his feet are size 9.5!  So far, he is loving the jr high experience - let's hope it stays that way for the rest of the year!  Yay for Kayden and jr high!

HAPPY birthday Jaren!

My sweet little Jaren - born on August 25, 2000, weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs 8 oz.

I LOVE this pic of my smiley happy baby boy!

Following in his big bro's footsteps?  Jaren was a curious, fun loving toddler.

My own little Bob the Builder.  Jaren absolutely loved anything to do with tools when he was younger.  You can see his tool belt in one of the next pics.

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. 

Love the face.  Love the tools.

Safety first.  Right Grampa?

Rockin out on a Sword?  I guess you just use what you can!

Happy birthday for sure!  Just look at that smile!

Jaren loved to (and still sometimes does) dress up.  Not just in regular costumes.  He would put all sorts of fun things together and create some type of magical character.  I love that about Jaren.

Batman with juice mustache.

Batman who is tuckered out and snuggling with Daddio.  Jaren loves to snuggle.

See!  He loves to dress up.

Happy Poke-birthday.  I think this was #8?

One fantastic creation built on a fabulous beach while camping.  Jaren loves camping and just being outside.

Oh yah, did I forget to mention that he likes guns?

Raspberry, anyone?

Surfing while camping last year.  Okay, maybe just floating.

I think this was one of the proudest moments of his life.  He loves karate!

My handsome 10 year old.  Wow, he has now hit the double digits.

I can hardly believe that my little J-ron is now 10 years old.  The time has passed so quickly.  He used to be just a little dude, but no longer.  He is getting so tall and thin and what a smart, fun, nice boy he is.  He has such  vivid imagination and I love to hear the stories he has to tell me.  He loves reading and playing outside and of course, karate.  He is a good friend and a good example to all those around him!  We love you so much Jaren and are so blessed to have you in our family!

U 14 Soccer

So I was trying to clean out my ever mounting, truly enormous, yahoo inbox, when I found Kayden's soccer team photo.  OOOPS!  Yep, they played their last game almost two months ago and here I am blogging now.  Better late than never, I suppose. 

This was Kayden's first year in U 14 and he was the youngest player on his team (as usual).  The season started a little rough for Kayden as he really didn't grasp his coach's style of coaching.  Once Lindsey sat down and talked to him - basically telling him that the coach wasn't picking on him, but that he was truly trying to help Kayden improve, things went a lot smoother.  Kayden improved a ton and his coach was super happy with his performance.  I even heard the word "superb" a few times (when referring to Kayden's moves on the field).  It just goes to show that when we seek first to understand, things go so much better!  Thanks Kayden (and Coach Seamus) for a great year of soccer.

Camping with Boys

I just love this picture.  This tree was right beside our trailer when we went camping a few weeks ago with the Cooks.  Now, just look at what  a great climbing opportunity this tree provides.  You can see that all 5 of these handsome little (and not so little) dudes enjoyed climbing this tree.  Well, guess when this was taken?  Right before we were ready to head out!  Yep, when we were all set to go, the boys decided that WOW, what great fun this tree can be!  So, we decided to capture some of the fun (and fabulous facial expressions) that these boys were having!  I also love how little Kolven looks compared to my ginormica boys!  Don't let that little body fool you though - he is full of personality! 

Floating Down the St Marys

Kayend and Jaren prepping to float down the St Mary's River

Tyler doing the mini ride down the river.  The first time, he just jumped on the tube and started floating - no concern for how/when he would get off.  After a short talk with Dad, he realized that he may need help on his floating adventure.

Tyler - post floating trip.  Tyler was very lucky that his super big bro Kayden waited for him to float down the river, caught him, then brought him to shore (not sure how many times).

Daddio (aka Lindsey) enjoying the cool river water.

Jaren and his dinghy mate having a blast.

Kayden and I (and a Cook family friend) enjoying the ride.

So, when we were camping with Shawn and Pam, we were fortunate enough to be able to float down the river on rafts, dinghies, or whatever we had available.  Shawn and his dad drove a big group of us up to the ranch house to begin our journey.  Lindsey and I were the adults in charge (scary thought) and there were about 6 kids with us.  The water was not very high, which was good and bad.  Good because it made it less scary, but bad because I scraped my feet.  A lot.  My purple toe nails were not so purple after.  In fact, they looked like I had taken a belt sander to them.  Anyway, FUN.  That is was!  It was relaxing and exciting and full of wonder.  Okay, maybe that was a little much.  Anyway, some of the kids were able to go for a second time too.  Not me.  I'm too old for that.
Thanks for making it such a great time Cooks!

A home for Froggy

The frog the Mom found

Hard working boys

Well, it seems that whenever we camp with the Cooks, we are blessed with a location that inhabits small, green, four legged, jumping friends.  Yes, I am talking about frogs.  Last year, when we camped with Cooks, the boys (and Aspen) built a lovely Frog home, complete with shade, rocks, and water.  This year was no different.  As you can see, Carter is hard at work creating the perfect frog home.  On the first day, some of the kids found several frogs in one place - it was quite exciting.  On the second day, they must have decided it was too hot to come out because Carter could not find a frog for his fabulous new frog enclosure.  Mom had to step in and find one for him.  I thought I was so cool finding a frog for Carter until Aspen told me that it was one of the frogs that the kids had found the day before and they had hidden it behind some big rocks (where I found it). 

Fabulous Fireworks

So, this is my final Magrath Days post.  There was so much family and fun to be had for us in this short weekend.  I love getting together with the Rice Family for this town celebration.  It is always exciting to see family from far away - cousins that have grown so much since last summer (or Christmas).  We truly are blessed to have such wonderful family connections.

For us, there is always a great ending to a really fun filled day - the fireworks.  This year, there was a little confusion as to when to begin the fireworks display, but in the end, it all got sorted out.  Here are a few of my favorite fire works.  I like the big pretty ones (as opposed to the swirly noisy ones that a lot of my little dudes enjoy).  So, another Magrath Days has been documented (this is my 14th, I think).  Can't wait for next year!

Steph and Wes

It always seems that when Nate and Steph come to visit, that I never take enough pictures.  This time was no exception.  I did, however, manage to get these cute shots of Steph and Wes after the parade.  In the first pic, I was trying to get a smile out of both of them.  As you can see, Steph was very willing to oblige.  Wes, on the other hand, wasn't going to budge.  So, Steph, being the fabulous and fun gal that she is, decided to join Wes in his facial expression.  The result = two seriously cute photos!

This is what happened next....

Jaren, armed and ready to go!  Ready to blast you...

Post water war.  Uncle Nate was safe from the water war.  For some reason, the boys just battled it out among themselves.  Well, really, Uncle Nate is a bit bigger.  AND, some of the boys may or may not have really wanted to get wet at all - they were just at the mercy of their brother(s).  Ah, brothers.  What a love - hate relationship!

Up a tree without a ?

I must be a mom of boys, lots of boys, cuz sights like this don't bother me at all.  Sorry, Aunt Michelle (I know it bothers you - and many other Moms).  My boys love to climb trees.  Simply put!

Post Parade Shenanigans

Okay, so usually at the end of the parade, the fire trucks hose off the kids and all is well. They are happy and cool and have a bucket full of candy. Well, this year, they didn't do it, so, Uncle Nate decided to take the water sitch into his own hands??? What do you think happened next?

The Ever Famous Magrath Days Parade!

Jaren and some of his cousins, hanging out and patiently waiting for the parade to start.

Carter must be doing something interesting, huh Brock?  Wes, the more serious waiter, has his eyes glued to the road.

Wow, this is SO much fun waiting for the parade to start!

The big cousins - Kayden, Mitchell, Spencer and Alex (along with baby John and little Mady), look a lot happier to be in the best parade watching spot!

OH YAY!  The parade has finally made it here!  Now, time for the candy catching!

Tyler got some candy and thought he should test it out right away!

I love this sweet pic of Carson in action.  Go little buddy - catch that candy!

I know exactly what they are thinking "if we wave, they are more likely to throw us candy..."

And, the end.  Kayden looks like he is right in there with the Star Wars dudes.  Last year, they passed out cool Star Wars candy.  Maybe by the time they got to us, they were out (we sit at the very end of the parade at Ciana's house).  It is actually pretty sweet.  We usually get dumped on - cause the peeps were saving their candy, you know, being conservative, and then they just throw it all our way!  Hooray for Magrath Days Parade!