Sad and Happy

And now we come to a sad and  happy time of year for me. It is the same with birthdays. I am happy because my children are growing, healthy, and smart in their unique ways. But I also get sad that they are getting so old and I am not a perfect mother for them yet. I also get sad because when they are at school I miss them! I like having them home! I also don't like being on the school's schedule. Alas, there is nothing I can do about it except for home-school them and I've pretty much ruled that out for the time being so here is M on her first day of school!

Oh, did I mention I accidentally slept in on M's first day of school? Yep! Mother-of-the-year award flew out the window for that blunder! I felt so bad that her morning was rushed and we were scrambling to take pics and get out the door on time-but we made it!

She was pretty nervous and very excited for the first day of school! Her BFF (who is in her class again this year) walked with us. Having each other really helped the girls' nerves settle! 

So while M was at school J and I had some much-cherished time together.

(We were playing with jets, but I couldn't fit them in the picture!)

The first weekend after school started we surprised the kids with a trip to Key Lime Cove. We get a very, very good deal and think it is worth the money to have that together time doing something that we all love. We all have such a wonderful time together. And we absolutely make the most of our time together-which is one reason I don't have a lot of pics from the trip!

After we got back, it was time to face J's first day of school. I actually held it together pretty well. He was super excited and didn't have any trouble saying goodbye to me-which helped me stayed glued!

Getting on the bus: 

He  has a really wonderful bus teacher. I am so thankful for good teachers I can trust!

When he got home he gave me lots and lots and lots of loves! Also, for the first 1 1/2 weeks or so when he got home from school he would plop on the floor, take his shoes off, and say "whew, it's good to be home!" It took him a few weeks to get used to being gone, but now he really loves school and counts the weekend down til he can go to school again! 

Preparations

After the fair it was time to prepare for school. And by prepare I mean do as many fun things together as we could! Here we are having a fashion show with new clothes Grandmomma sent us:

 J's idea of a fashion show consists of break- dancing and ninja moves. M came out with a different prop for each outfit. And instead of modeling she calls it "cat-walking."

 This picture just really captures the essence of summer for me. Two friends with their hair down, flip flops on, riding their scooters-so care free!

 J and I took an afternoon to play in the dirt. First the tractors made the race tracks, and then the cars raced.

 J got a haircut:

 We went to the annual "country fair" held by our stake every August:

 New hair cut and new jammies:

 I had a week-long babysitting job so he came along with us to the park one day:

 One of our train tracks:

 One day the kids and I went to Mishiwaka to look for cheap soccer cleats. We found a Kroger so of course we stopped to get fried chicken and Hawaiian rolls for lunch! We took our picnic to a park and had a lovely afternoon.

 We went to the beach one day. It was too cool for swimming (for us-but there are always crazy people in the water). We still enjoyed the playground and sand.

 Sand angels:

 M treated herself and J to a frozen yogurt: