The Mitchell Blog

Goodbye Summer....Hello School Year!

2010-08-14T19:55:00.007-04:00

Yes it is officially over! Summer has ended and the new school year is here! We have all survived the first week back, amazingly enough. I knew the kids would be fine, but this was my first time working the first week of school AT the school! Let me just tell you it is a totally crazy thing! All is well now...I have gotten caught up on my sleep this morning and I'm ready for another week! I can now reflect on those things that we will miss about the summer and take a look at the first day of school for the kids!

Collin's greatest joy was getting up before anyone else on those joyous summer mornings....can't drag him out of bed when it's a school day, but armed with the knowledge of a computer all to himself and total control of the TV remote....he's flying out of bed before dawn!
And my darling Samantha...her true summer joy was endless sleep! I just can't really blame her. She is totally her mother's daughter!
And it begins......at the bus stop by 6:50 a.m., not even really light yet, here we are at the bus stop. He even has a smile on his face. Lovely.
McKenzie, Kyler (now the big 6th grader!), and Collin......all together.
They really do love each other......
Then the sun was finally out and about and we were ready for the next group to get to the bus! Samantha was ready to go around 7am....bummer that the bus doesn't come until about 7:50. But she was ready and able to help her newest school attending cousin, Cade, get to the bus as well!
Doesn't she look so cute! I can't believe she's already in 5th Grade.

Here's the whole gang.....(from left to right) Eliza, Ali, Cade, Kavan, Karlee and Samantha. Eliza and Ali are not attending school however...just there for moral support.
Faces only mother's could love! Don't they look like brilliant students. Gotta love them!

More Summer Fun!

2010-08-05T08:01:00.008-04:00

It was Collin's first year at Scout Camp! It was something he was really looking forward to, especially since his dad was going to be able to go with him. How fun is that! Since I wasn't there, I don't have first hand knowledge of all the scout stuff that happened, but here are some photos you might enjoy.

Swimming Hole fun!

Hangin' with a fellow scout and good friend, Bryant!

He's not tired is he?

A skill taught at camp of balancing water bottles on your

head is very critical to learn as a first year scouter!

That's my boy!

Quite the fisherman!

While I was in Oregon and Kirk and Collin went to Scout Camp.....Samantha got to go spend time with her Atlanta cousins and Grandma and Grandpa! She was not sad about this at all! She had so much fun I think she got a bit spoiled!

Swimming in Grandpa's pool!

Going to Six Flags...

Going to art class with Grandma! What an artist!

And finally, going to the lake house to find some fish!

Thanks to Aunt Betsy, she also got to go horseback riding, rollerskating and more...thanks Aunt Betsy and thanks to Grandma for keeping her plenty busy and having fun!

Summer Swim Team

2010-07-14T09:50:00.008-04:00

The third season of "The Fins" Swim Team has now come to a close. I know it's sad, but I don't think the kids are missing those morning swim practices too much. I must admit, it's been nice to be a bit more lazy now. Anyway, for the past couple of years, the kids have been involved in swim team. We think it's great because they stay active during summer, get some good exercise and have become quite good at swimming! We would go to practice each morning during the week at 9am and workout for a hour. I even got in a workout, by walking the neighborhood, while they were in the pool! So it was really a win win situation for everyone! Each Tuesday evening we would then have "The Meets". Those are always fun because the kids get to hang out, eat a bunch of junk food and swim a few races here and there. Then afterwards we always had to hit the local Sonic for a milk shake or something to top of the junk food requirement of the day. It has really become a fun summer tradition!

Here with Kirk figuring out where she needed to be. They write all of their races on their arms. She enjoyed having graffiti all over her body! Yes it washed off in a few days!

Just after a race....what a pro!

You go girl!

Having a ball!

Showing off all his ribbons!

Doesn't Collin look like a stud!?!

Fun Projects!

2010-07-13T10:57:00.005-04:00

Now that I'm working at the elementary school, I have really appreciated the oodles of time I've had this summer to get stuff done! One of my projects was redecorating the kids bathroom. Before it was done in lovely yellows, purples and greens with a rubber ducky theme. Collin informed me that it was way to babyish for him to use. So it needed to be updated and have a more "grown up" look! So this is what I came up with and I must say, I'm pretty excited about it. I used some left over paint from Samantha's room, made some new curtains and bath drapes, and got some vinyl from my mother in law! All of that made it not too expensive either. I'm happy with it! And now Collin is able to use his bathroom without feeling ashamed. Yeah!

Collin - Like You've Never Seen Him Before!

2010-07-12T15:53:00.005-04:00

I came across this video that Collin had done. This is a side not too many people see of Collin, but he does have a pretty good sense of humor. Enjoy!

Summer Fun!

2010-07-12T15:35:00.006-04:00

So I've finally taken a bunch of pictures off my camera and decided to share with everyone a few things that our family have been up to. Of course there is a bunch to catch up on, so I'll be posting more soon. But here's a few goodies.....

Back during Spring Break.....my dear son and nephew Kyler, decided to have some fun swinging on a dead vine. Well wouldn't you know it, you can still get a rash from poison ivy, even after it's been dead for a while. Poor boys were miserable for a week. And of course it was SPRING BREAK! So they were really bummed. This was supposed to have been a great week that Collin and Kirk were going to spend hiking together, but alternative plans were made. So sad!

Samantha decided to cut her gorgeous long locks for a better cause! She donated her hair and ended up with a really nice new look! You go girl!

Collin turns 12! Yep it's true, can you believe it? He got the priesthood and went on his first Temple Trip only a couple weeks after that! It was also his good friend, Bryant's first time! It was great they could share that together!

He's destined to be a rocker dude now with the new guitar he received for his birthday! He just sort of fell right into character when he picked the thing up. Amazing.....

And yes...the boys finally got to go on the long awaited father/son hike! It wasn't quite the hike they had expected (that's a whole other story), but they did have a great time doing all that male bonding stuff!

2010-06-25T12:58:00.000-04:00

More fun activities at Grandma's Camp! I had the important job of holding Eliza! and I did it well! =0)

Grandma's Camp!

2010-06-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

This is what we look forward to every summer! It's Grandma's Camp!!! Here is one of the first activities....tie die! All the kids made their own shirts and got to wear them at Stone Mountain that night! It was fab!

2010-05-26T16:31:00.002-04:00

Yes it's me and it's been more than a year since I've done this! Boy time flies when you are crazy busy and don't feel like posting. But now it's summer and life is good! I'm not working at the school and so I'm ready to be footloose and fancy free! I'll work on the pictures later, but just wanted to say hello and more to come!

The New Year! A New Addition!

2009-01-25T13:11:00.003-05:00

As the new year has begun, we just felt something missing in our home. We are so blessed to have a new addition of a ferret named May! The kids are thrilled and are taking very good care of her, especially Collin. I just can't help but call it my term of endearment, "The Rat". At least it is quiet and likes to sleep a lot. And she does keep the kids entertained. So I guess she's not all bad. Just a little strange looking. So Happy New Year for us! It's already starting off with quite a lot of excitement!

Our Christmas Traditions!

2009-01-25T11:54:00.010-05:00

One of my family tradtions growing up was decoating Gingerbread Men! We loved it and have carried it on to the next generation. The kids love it every year and as they have gotten older, really make some interesting pieces of art with these cookies!

The kids love making home made pizza's at Grandma Mitchell's Christmas Party! They have a ton of different toppings to choose from and just love coming up with their own combinations!

All the cousins acting out the Christmas Story. Our favorite was Cade being a donkey! So cute!

2009-01-25T09:53:00.002-05:00

Our Christmas Wishes in our New Christmas PJs!

2009-01-25T09:44:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving 2008, brought our Mitchell family, and extended family, to Washington D.C.! It was a great trip! Cold, but great and we got to see so much of our country's history. Even though we saw a ton, we still missed much and need to go back again. This is our family on the steps of the capital building.

2009-01-25T09:41:00.001-05:00

Here's our trick or treating group! Bryant Koschene, McKenzie, Taylor Stickler, Kavan, Karlee, Samantha, Ali, Collin, Cade and Kyler. There was much junk food to be had on that night!

I'm back again!

2009-01-25T09:31:00.002-05:00

Well, I've finally determined that only when my children are sick, do I slow down and find time to do things such as this. I know that is pretty sad, but strangely enough, here I am again with two sick children. So what do I feel like doing, but updating the blog. Enough with excuses, I'm posting a few pictures to update our family happenings over the past few months that I've missed. So enjoy....

That's my boy!

2008-10-10T12:56:00.002-04:00

That's Collin making the tackle! You go boy!

Football Season 2008 (and nothing broken!)

2008-10-10T12:39:00.004-04:00

I've got to tell about Collin's, so far, successful football season. Yes, he's playing again and he's even on the same team again. THE BRONCOS!!!! He is loving it and learning a lot. Dad is so proud and loves to go to the games. Kirk must make sure that he is there early enough to be one of the lucky chosen to hold the poles for marking the first down. Get's him closer to the action he says! Anyway, it's pretty fun to watch and we even love it more that we haven't had to make one trip to the hospital! Go Broncos!

First Day of School

2008-10-09T19:52:00.006-04:00

I know, I know. I'm so slacking and the first day of school was about a hundred days ago. (well maybe not that many.) But I've also been as school working in various classrooms and therefore, staying too busy with not much time to blog. I really want to get on top of this though. So I'll continue trying.

Lazy Summer Days

2008-07-09T17:50:00.000-04:00

It's just another typical summer day around here. We've got a pool in the back yard and it gets used just about every day. It's pretty nice to get the extra energy out. We've discovered a problem with our pool this year in that it never gets clear. So when we got the water tested we found out that every 3 years we're supposed to change out the sand in the filter. We've been in this house for over 5 now and never done this. But being that we've got less than a month until school starts and the pool closes, we're going to put off that expense until next year. The pool is perfectly safe to swim in, no worries, just not looking to pretty. The kids surely don't seem to mind. Above you see, McKenzie, Samantha and Karlee just enjoying the sun and lazy summer days!

Here we go...

2008-07-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

Welcome everyone into the fantastically exciting life of the Mitchell family. Well, maybe not that exciting, but we do have some fun here and there. I hope by doing this blog that those family and friends who are far away, can somehow stay connected to us. Maybe you'll even enjoy the fun stories we have to tell. So Collin is here with me tonight and wants me to start with him. I won't start at his beginning, but his greatest accomplishment in the decade he has been on this earth. It would namely be his ability to spend almost his entire 4th grade year with a cast on his right arm. It all began in September of 2007 at his first tackle football practice with pads. (He wanted to make sure that you knew it was with the pads.) His first play ended up with a snaped arm and an evening spent in the ER. After two surgeries to put a rod in and take it out, he had a clean bill of health around the end of January 2008. This meant that he could now resume all activities and stop taking it "easy". I couldn't really tell a difference with his activities before and after that other than sitting on the sidelines during PE. Big Deal! So by early February (of that same year) he managed to break the same arm in almost the exact same place. This time it was basketball after Scouts. (We forgive you Zachary). He was used to the disability by this time, so it was really no big deal, but did last until almost the end of school that year. Great times!

That is all I will share at this time, until I get this all set up. I leave you with great anticipation of what's to come. Goodnight!