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

The Perks!

Nick has been flying charter for a couple of years now, but he is currently the only charter pilot in rotation at his school. This means that he gets all of the flights... and is gone a lot more often. He is usually only gone for a day, or overnight. Last week he was going to be gone for two nights in Vegas. He is friendly with the passenger he was taking and we kind of threw the idea of me going along too, but I was hesitant. Finding a sitter, someone to watch Johnny, grocery shopping... I wasn't sure it was worth the effort.

The night before he left, I went to bed very irritated at Nick. More irritated than I have been in a very long time. He was playing video games at Dave's house and I sent him a very irritated text. He didn't even get the hint to come home! I fell asleep angry. The problem with falling asleep angry is that you usually wake up angry.

The next morning as I was saying my prayers and asking for help letting go of my anger, my answer came to go with him to Vegas. I knew for certain that it was an answer to prayer because I didn't even feel slightly nervous about flying in a tini-tiny airplane or leaving my kids behind.

I only had three hours to plan, but it all worked out! Ali was willing to babysit (THANKS ALI!!!!) and after a quick trip to Target I was ready to go! And guess what? By the time I got to the airport I felt nothing but excitement about having my husband all to myself for two whole days! Worked like a charm :)!



Our cozy little ride





The picture doesn't capture it very well, but I LOVE how the mountains just suddenly turn into developed land.









Our hotel room in New York New York





The first night we met up with Nick's Uncle Jerry and Aunt Cindy. We see them so rarely, it was fun to catch up.

Nick's hotel and food is paid for when he is on Charter flights, so all we paid for was some food for me, and a few souvenirs for the kids!

We had a great time being alone, eating every meal out, having no responsibilities... We even closed the curtains in the hotel room and slept in until 8:30!! (2 1/2 hours later than usual) It was perfect.









But all good things must come to an end. (He is pretty cute in his uniform isn't he) I was ready to see my kids by then too