Labor day fun

We had some great family time over the weekend.  Out original plan had been to go camping.  The ninety degree weather made us cancel out on camping and opt for some sleepovers at home and day trips.  On Saturday we went to Lake McBride near Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.  The beach was big and well kept up and the water was warm.  We had a blast swimming all day.  And since it was also Teresa's baptism day--the water activity was a perfect fit.

 To honor Teresa's special day, she got to pick our dinner and a treat.  She chose hot dogs and Culver's ice cream cones.

 On Sunday it was still hot, but we managed a trip to the Platteville M and hiked to the top--some 260 stairs.  Not too bad of a hike.  The cool thing is that we can actually see the M from our neighborhood.  We had a picnic lunch at the bottom of the M in the shade.  Too hot and windy at the top!  We next drove to Casseville to ride the car ferry.  We missed the ferry by one car and we decided the wait was too long for the next ferry.  We drove home on the WI side of the Mississippi and will do the ferry some other time.

 By Monday we were all a little tired.  Our main outing was the Labor Day Parade.  It consisted of lots of trucks and a few tractors.  And candy too, so that made the kids happy!

 All in all it was a wonderful weekend and we feel blessed!

I think she likes kindergarten!

While we were in the car after school today, Teresa was telling all the things she needed.  The little brown table, the dry erase board, a calendar, a pointer, some crayons.  And she was going to make a tally mark.  She wanted to recreate her kindergarten for her kitty.  And kitty was going to make friends!  When we got home we also added folders for the stuffed animal students, a rug, a microphone for the teacher and the snake to be like the big caterpillar in Teresa's classroom.  Teresa worked on "writing" a list of rules to follow in kindergarten.

It was fun to see her excitement about kindergarten and it reassures me that she is in a good place!

First day of school!

The big day finally came. Teresa has been nervous about the first day of kindergarten, but after orientation yesterday she became excited.  She woke up early and declared that today was "the best day of her life!" It warms my heart to hear her so excited.  It helps take away some of sadness about my little girl growing up.

Starting the morning with pancakes and smoothie!

Timothy was much more excited for 2nd grade than 1st. Learning that he gets 2 recesses helped his excitement level! He slept in a little today, but came bounding out of his room, wearing his crown, shouting "happy first day of school!"

We had some big smiles for our first day pictures this morning.  Timothy and Teresa both carefully picked out their clothes and shoes. and were ready to go about a half hour before the bus would show up.

All the kids at the bus stop were out early this morning.  It made for a long wait for the bus.  It is quite a crew of girls at the stop.  Teresa was the only kindergartner this year.

Teresa was jumping for joy as the bus pulled up.  We gave lots of hugs and kisses to save through the day.  Even Timothy had lots of kisses to blow at the last minute.

Teresa made it on the bus just fine.  We asked Timothy to help her find a seat, but he sat with his buddy Michael right away.  Teresa found a seat with Zoie and she was off.  Troy met the bus at school and helped Teresa find her line.  The kids had gone in already, but a para was there to usher Teresa in.

I came in and cried.  I miss my sweet kids so much, but I am so proud of them and how they are growing up.  Troy kindly surprised me with flowers and a sweet note.  I do not want to focus on my sadness, but the joy of my kids growing up.