The Bell Has Rung...Please Be Seated

As of August 24th, school is back in session! It sure didn't take long for the homework to start and the morning grumblings to begin.....aaaaaahhhhhhh school ;)

Jake is in the 4th grade and we are pleased that his teacher from 3rd grade moved up with his class, so we already know that she is wonderful.

Dylan is in 1st Grade this year, and also got a fabulous teacher, a woman who has been teaching for over 20 years.Here's what Ryan looked like as the boys headed off for the day. I know what you're thinking, he looks awfully happy for a little guy who's about to be abandoned by his big brothers. It's simply that he's no fool, he knows that he now gets the playroom to himself, doesn't have to have his snacks stolen, and can snuggle in with Mom for a book whenever his little heart desires. Oh the joy of being a preschooler!

"King Clown" -- Votes Needed!

We were blessed to receive a clown kit in the mail (thanks Grandma O.)! The boys had fun seeing who was the best clown. I know who I think fits the bill...but we need your votes to crown "King Clown" of the Ortler Home.

Contestant #1: Name - Ryan, Alias "Rookie". Loves to laugh, giggle, color, ride skooters, break whatever the boys are doing, eat, and watch Caillou, Bearenstein Bears & Handy Manny.

Contestant #2: Name - Dylan, Alias "McMillin". Especially good at art, building forts, projects, cooking and finding a way to escape jobs.

Contestant #3: Name - Jake, Alias "Snake". Excellent piano player, loves all things sports, learning to skateboard, plays Bakugan, good at jobs when privileges are attached.

Contestant #4: Name - Melanie, Alias "Queen". Just trying to find time to laugh while still holding it all together ;)

Ryan found another use for the clown nose....I know it's a bit early for this, but Ryan seems to have that uncanny ability to make anything cute any time of the year!

Summer is going, going....

....almost gone!

One last week of summer, and then it's back to getting up early, catching the bus, school, homework, routines, routines, routines, get to bed early. It exhausts me just thinking about it.

We have been making the most of our end of summer. We joined the Flower Mound Community Activity Center for a few weeks in July and visited the water park several times each week. The boys thought this was a blast.
We also enjoyed a BBQ last weekend at my sister's and the boys caught big air on the diving board! Ahhhh...summmer.

A Hot New Look!

Jake & Dylan are sporting a hot new look. They saved up and bought skateboards this summer and have had a blast trying to learn all the moves. John surprised all of us by demonstrating that he still retains all his skateboarding moves from his youth. I have to keep reminding him that we really need him to get up & go to work each day....so keep it cool ;)

I've already received requests to go to the skate park, but I think they need to improve their skills a bit before skating with the big dogs. Ryan is wondering when he can get a skateboard too (for now I think we'll stick with a scooter, two sets of stitches in one year is enought - right?)

Summer Vacation

We had a fabulous summer vacation to Utah. For the first time, we drove with the kids. It wasn't too bad of a drive, just wish he had more spectacular scenery other than New Mexico ;)

The vacation was too short, and packed full (especially when you factor in Jake's nose surgery). We went camping in Pine Valley with the Anderson clan. The boys enjoyed sleeping in a tent (and the van one night when the tent zipper broke). We also enjoyed hiking, horseshoes and fishing. The camping food was awesome!

While visiting with Grandpa and Grandma A. we also enjoyed a water park, visited the temple, and the boys enjoyed a really unique park with lots of fun activities.





















We spent several days at Grandpa Ortler's house in Brian Head (including the 4th of July weekend). The firework show was fabulous, the noise as the fireworks explode and the sound bounces off the canyon walls is neat. The boys had a unique experience of driving a backhoe with Grandpa O.'s good friedn. We also enjoyed a BBQ at a hunting cabin in Cedar Breaks where the boys got to shoot BB guns and ride 4 wheelers.The boys spent a lot of time with their Utah cousins and really enjoyed them (it had been two years since they had seen each other). Now were back home trying to weather the July Texas heat!

"Ambition...

....may be defined as the willingness to receive any number of hits on the nose." (Wilfred Owen)

According to this definition, one of my sons is very ambitious! Jake broke his nose at cub scout day camp on June 18th. He was in a bounce house with 2 other boys and one boy pushed another boy, whose head hit Jake in the nose. His nose was pretty bent, sort of shaped like a backwards "C". The real kicker of the deal was that 2 days later we were leaving for vacation.

So, we spent a good part of our vacation seeing an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist and having the bones in Jake's nose surgically reset. He wore a "nose cast" for a week. He was such a trooper too, he never once asked for pain medicine or complained of any pain (after the injury or after the surgery). A week later when they took the nose cast off, unfortunately it is still a bit crooked, but there's nothing more they can do until after he is done growing. As for now, his nose has a bit of character to it ;)

Texas Twister

On June 10, 2009 Flower Mound had an EF1 tornado roll through town. There was a lot of storm damage in our neighborhood including giant oak trees down, with some trees down & then wrapped around their trunk (evidence of rotating winds). One tree behind my next door neighbor's house was down and looked like someone took a giant axe and sliced it down about 4 feet up from the ground, it was a large tree and was a powerful reminder of the raw force of Mother Nature.

John, the boys and I spent about 25 minutes hunkered down in the bathtub together in the pitch blackness (power out). John exclaimed that it was the closest we had ever been as a family (2 adults + 3 kids + 1 bathtub = close quarters). I must say it was a sobering experience to feel the power of the wind hitting the house and and debris hitting the house, feeling the house kind of move & shake and wondering if the roof is going to be ripped off at any moment. Gratefully we came out of it fine with the roof intact and not a single tree down in our yard.

Here's a video filmed by some storm chasers about 1 mile from my house. There's some language, but most of it is bleeped out. It's amazing to hear the roar of the wind in the video. Even without the tornado they claim that 75-80 mile per hour winds came through our area. It was quite a night!
http://untamedscience.com/DFWstorm