A good sign...

I think it is a good sign when Teresa said this morning that she wishes it was school today (not Saturday.)  She is tired of summer.  She thought that maybe later on, after being in school awhile, she might like weekends more!  A good change from a girl that on Monday said she did not want to go back to school.  Thankful for those great teachers that help make a wonderful classroom environment!

Back to school!

It was back to school this week for my 2nd and 4th graders!  Neither one was excited about school, but then we had orientation conferences yesterday and their excitement increased.  Teresa was nervous about school, but being in her classroom and playing on the playground seemed to diminish some fear.  Timothy was not nervous, but even for him being at school reminded him of the fun that is ahead.   We had good meetings with teachers, found their line ups, and tested out the playground.  As a second grader, Teresa gets to go on all parts of the playground this year.



Yesterday Timothy slept in until 8:20!  Today both Teresa and Timothy were up around 7am ready for a special breakfast--cinnamon rolls and smoothie this year!  We had plenty of time for the morning pictures.  I finally wised up and moved them out of the bright sun.  Then we packed backpacks with essentials like snack, water, and books to read on the bus!

4th grader ready to take on the new year.

A second grader with a bright smile.  If you can enlarge the pic, you will see her missing tooth that she lost yesterday in her chocolate chip bagel!

Then it was down to the bus stop.  They both seemed excited and not nervous.  Teresa just missed having Anna on the bus. We were out 25 minutes early and most of the kids were already there.  A few more kids were lost to the 6th grade, but there is still a handful.  Soon enough the bus came and they were off to a new year.  Troy followed the bus again, but only because our sweet girl made the request that he do so.  He couldn't say no!

This year I have shed no tears.  I miss my kiddos, but I just feel they are in a good place.  I too had my first day back at work.  So it was a busy day for me too!


Timothy and Teresa came home smiling.  It was a good day for both of them and a good start to the year!

Cousin time and birthday party

We had a wonderful weekend with family and celebrating birthdays.  Grandma Rebecca and Grandpa Ken came to visit and brought two cousins along.  Timothy and Teresa were so happy to share the weekend with cousins.  And as the girls matching shirts say...be happy...and we were!

On Friday we spent the morning at the river museum.  I forgot to bring my camera, but the kids and Grandma had a blast.  We showed them all of our favorites, the sting rays, the water area, the touch tanks, the otters, the log steppers.  There was almost too much to see in the time we had.

The afternoon was spent playing and waiting for what was supposed to be pool night.  The pool night got cancelled due to chilly temps and we had some very sad kids.  So we made a plan to go to the pool after the party on Saturday.

The birthday party morning began with Teresa's request for breakfast.  Cat cinnamon rolls!  I tried my best and no one complained about the taste!

The party started at 10:30.  The first activity was designing some shrinky dinks.  Everyone worked hard and we had some creative art.  The first game was a favorite from last year...chase the big cat.  And what a cute big cat he is too!

We played a few more games like parachute and pin the tail on the animals.  We did the dog treats for tricks game again.  Earning scooby snacks was well enjoyed and we had some talented dogs!

New this year was pie face, but we called it Good dog, bad dog.  If you were a bad dog you got a little slap on the nose.  The little slap also included whip cream!  Everyone got a turn to be a bad dog.

The morning zipped by and soon enough Teresa was opening presents and it was time for lunch and cake.  We got a nice group pic of Teresa's friends before lunch.  Sophie, Timothy, Broder, Marina, Anna, Teresa, Violet, and Fiona.

Teresa chose a chihuahua on her cake this year.  It was the well like chocolate cake with Oreo cookie filling.

After the party there was time for more play time.  Fiona and Teresa now both have mermaid tales.  The do like to be matching since they are 'twin' cousins!

Soon enough the after party began and we headed to the pool for afternoon fun.  It was the cousins and Ana that joined in this party.  It was still cooler, but not too bad.  Teresa, Anna and Fiona spent most of the time on the water slide.  Timothy and Broder did the slide, a little pool time and added in some diving board time too.

After church it was time to send the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa on their way.  We snapped a few pics to help us remember our fun times and the people we love.  We were all a little sad to see them drive away. Yet, we are so thankful that we could all be together and make such fun memories!!