School Starts!!

Benjamin started school again yesterday and was very excited! We went to the school with him on Monday to introduce him to his new classmates and see his teacher from last year. Thankfully he has the same teacher because he didn't know anyone else there. Benjamin kept asking "where are all my friends?" It was kind of sad, all of his friends, except a few moved up to kindergarten. He will be just fine though. He is still only 3 (almost 4 next month) but he is so much taller than all the rest of the kids. Matthew is almost as tall as the kids in his class, it is so funny. I didn't realize how tall the two were until I see them next to kids their own age.

Anyways, first day went just fine, just like he's been doing it all his life. Me on the other hand, I think I tear up almost everytime I drop him off. I just can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is catching on to everything so quick and learning so much even on his own. I am now starting to spell everything out that he can't hear...because he understands everything!! I even catch myself spelling things to Bill when the kids aren't around. His teacher is Ms. Gail and she is just so wonderful. She really does do a lot for the kids and she enjoys them. She has 8 kids of her own, which just amazes me. Anyways, Ben adores her so I am so thankful to be so lucky to have her with us.

Now onto the other kid. I don't know if anyone can believe this but Justice is in 8th grade this year. Yes I said 8th grade, that is one year away from being in high school. The other day I was trying to explain to him how fast time flies. I told him that in 10 years you may be married or graduated from college already or have a kid!! Oh dear, I think I was almost crying by the end of that conversation too. He is growing into a great kid who is a major help around the house...well as long as I don't call it chores, it gets done. He is hoping to run for President in his school this year and is doing great at his Cowboy Fast Draw. World championship is coming up at the end of September, which he will be participating in with his Dad and Papa. I am so excited for him because I know he can win it for the youth division. He is an A plus student so I am not worried about him at all. So lucky to have great kids!! Don't have any pics of his first day but I have other ones so enjoy!!

Our trip to Tuscon for the shoot

When I started this blog I was having issues with my internet and putting pictures on here...so I gave up and ended up forgetting all about it. Here is an outdated blog...but not too old. This last Saturday Bill Papa Bill and Justice had a Cowboy Fast Draw Shoot in Tuscon so the boys and I decided that we were going to check out Tuscon too. I have never been there but I was a little nervous taking the two and a half hour trip with the boys by myself. They did pretty good though, better than I expected.

We first stopped in at the Reid Park Zoo. I didn't find out until we got back that I checked out the wrong place. Bill said there was a Desert place to check out and that morning when I was looking for the address, the only one I found was the zoo so I thought it was it. The zoo was free since we are members of the Phoenix Zoo, that was a bonus. The zoo was not that big but big enough for us to walk through and enjoy ourselves without getting overheated. It is still really hot down there as well. The zoo had polar bears, lamas, some type of pigs, albino peacocks and some other things that Ben and Matthew has never seen so it was neat. We had lunch there where they got these really cute bear head lunch pails. We then headed down to see Bill, Justice, Papa Bill and Uncle Charlie shoot. I really enjoyed driving through Tuscon, it actually is a little bit smaller than Phoenix but nicer some how. We finally found the range and Benjamin just loved watching them shoot and be apart of the boys group.

After we left there we drove to the San Xavier Mission in Nogales. I don't know what it is about old, sacred and religous buildings but they are just so peaceful to me. I really enjoyed the pictures I got to take and just feeling the peace being there. We then drove further south to a restaurant with a bulls skull. It is pretty neat looking, none of us were hungry though so we drove past University of Arizona (I think) and had dinner at Chuy's back in Tuscon. We have never been there, just wanted to check out a new restaurant. It was okay, they gave us a stuffed kitten or pig or something to hold onto for our number(to get our food). That is not a wise idea, we had to hide it so Benjamin didn't try to leave with it...he wouldn't even eat unless it was right by him.

All in all it was a really nice trip and always fun to check out new places to visit. I will definitely be back to find the right zoo and go back to the one since it was such a nice place to go.

Eagle Eye's First Shoot

Eagle Eye showed up for the first time on Saturday and showed those old cowboys how it is done. He looked them all in the eye and wouldn't take "no time" for an answer.

Justice really enjoys shooting with his Dad and they finally decided it was time for Justice to join the Cowboy Fast Draw. Well he hasn't "joined" yet but he got to go shoot this last Saturday. He didn't realize how special of an event it was for him to shoot until we got there and his aunt and uncle from Mexico and some cousins from Maryland were there too. We even showed up, sick kids and all to cheer on their big brother. We had a really good time and it was overcast for most of the morning, so not too hot but it was really humid. Justice finished 22nd out of 23, he was a bit disapointed but we had to remind him that it was his first time. He has only shot maybe 2 or 3 times his whole life. I think he did great and we are so proud of him. We look forward to Buckaroo Ben shooting one day now. I will keep you all updated. Bill also shot at this tournament and he placed 9th place. Bills uncle Charlie placed 2nd and Grandpa Bill placed 3rd. They are all on a roll and doing great. Here is Buckaroo Ben himself waiting to be driven to town.

This is Kaleb, Ben's cousin from the east coast. He just looked so cute and had his own gun too. Ben was thrilled to see another cowboy his size.