First Day of Pre-school

For Elsie's first day of Preschool I let her pick out the pink frilly skirt after she reminded me that Aaron and Charlotte both got new clothes for school but she did not. Ooops!

Her school started two weeks after the older kids started and she was sooo ready when it finally did.

It wasn't until I got to her school and I saw all the other mom's with their cameras that I realized that not only did I leave my camera at home, but I didn't even take any pictures of her on her first day! Horrible mother!! Then I found out that I was supposed to be Aiding in the class that day and my car battery decided to die all within 5 minutes! I thankfully got everything figured out thanks to lots of help from Shalee, Rachel, Christian and Ali. But I never did get a picture of her on her first day.

We dressed up in the same outfit a couple of weeks later though so here is our second attempt.

The school that she is going to is a co-op preschool. All the moms take turns teaching and aiding which cuts way down on cost, but it is still in a classroom instead of just in a home which makes it more fun for the kids. My aiding stint is over and I don't have to teach until January. I couldn't be more thrilled!! It really wasn't bad in the classroom, but finding someone else to take care of my other kids while I was there was a nightmare.

It was, however, fun to see how the school was run and to be there with Elsie for her first three weeks of preschool. I brought my camera the next day to try to make up for being a horrible mother the day before.

It really is a cute little preschool and I highly recommend it. There are only 7 little kids in her class and they have room for more, so if you live nearby and are interested let me know!

What I've been up to...

It can be messy at times, but overall it is working quite nicely!

They made it home...

...and they loved their first day!

They both had a great time and are excited about the school year. In honor of the day we had a celebratory dinner at In-N-Out.

First Day of School

My kids have been counting the weeks and days until school starts since school got out in June. Especially Charlotte, but Aaron was excited to start a new school too. I asked them last night if they were a little bit nervous and they both said 'not at all!' Then I told them that I didn't cry on my first day of kindergarten, but I did cry every day after that. Then they laughed at me.

I am excited to see how Charlotte does in school this year. Her birthday is one day past the cut-off to start school so even though she knew everything she needed to know and more, we had to wait to start school. I was honestly glad that the decision was made for me, it would have been a hard one to make. This past year she has progressed quite a bit and already knows all of the Kindergarten sight words, and can read lots of books... even ones she hasn't seen before. She knows all her shapes, colors and numbers too. She hasn't really learned much math, but I know she will pick it up quickly. This girl is a motivated learner. I can't take any credit for it. She taught herself to read by watching Aaron and asking me questions.

Aaron just looks so big I can't believe it. He is so confidant (MUCH more than I was at 7... or 17 for that matter) He has always been a leader in his class and even though he hates to do homework, he is a smart boy and he does really well in school. He also started piano lesson over the summer and I can't believe how quickly he picked it up. Again, he doesn't love to practice but it is fun to hear him play and see him be proud of himself when he learns a new song.

and then of course these little cuties wanted to take pictures too... how could I refuse?

I just have to say, this is the cutest bunch of kids I have ever seen.

Aaron was all smiles as we walked up to the school. But then we passed a big group of Jr. High kids and you could tell that he started to get nervous. Suddenly his hand was no longer holding mine. I walked him to the spot where his teacher would pick the class up and waited with him until she got there. He did not want me to leave until she did, but he also didn't want me to embarrass him be taking tons of pictures. I obliged and only took these two. I sure wasn't going to get any smiles though!

Luckily Charlotte was happy to smile for me!

We walked with her into the cafeteria to make sure all was well (and mostly to get a few more pictures) before heading back to the car. She wasn't sad to see my go at all and was already making friends with the cute little girl (also named Charlotte) sitting right next to her.

I can't wait to pick them up and hear all about their first day!

Twin Lakes - With the Kids!

Last Friday we went on an overnight backpacking trip and brought Aaron and Charlotte. Ali and Christian came along too as well as Jordan, Stephanie and their girls.

The hike up was a little bit harder than I remembered, but the kids all did great! They were all complaining at the end, but when we got to our destination and set up camp they all agreed it was worth it!

We got up there right before the sunset so we were rushed to get everything set up and the camera didn't come back out until the next morning. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner over the fire and they went to sleep pretty quickly. We were all very tired!

Right before hiking out we stopped at the Lake so swim for a bit.

It was a nice, quick trip that I would like to do once a year with our family while they are young.

We got back from Vegas on Wednesday, and on Thursday I left with the kids to visit Grandma Jodi in Livermore and my Sister LoRen in Danville.

We stayed with Jodi and Joe Thursday night. Jodi made some delicious spaghetti and meatballs for us, then we watched movies and went to bed. The next morning we played at the park, went to a fun toy shop where each child got to pick out a toy, then had lunch. After we were nice and full we went back to school shopping!! (The kids weren't too thrilled about shopping, but they did enjoy having a fashion show for Auntie Ali and Desi when we got home and they can't wait to wear their new clothes to school!)

That night we had pizza for dinner, then walked to the park to fly kites. After that I went to LoRen and Blake's with Lila to spend the night there and the kids had a slumber party at Grandma and Grandpa's house! My mom drove up and met me at LoRen's.

The next day I picked the kids up and we all spent the day with LoRen by the pool. I think the kids spent 6 hours out there. They were all a little pink that night. It was a very pretty day. It really wasn't hot, but the pool was warm so they just kept swimming!

After our day swimming, we headed back to Grandmas house to watch more movies and get ready to go back home in the morning. It was a fun quick trip and I didn't take enough pictures, but I'm glad we made it up to visit before school started and I'm glad I finally got to see LoRen's new place!

Here are the pictures that I did take