First Day of School!!

The day finally arrived! THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

Amelia and Cooper both woke up before their alarm and were ready twenty minutes before we needed to leave. They were both so excited, talking about what they would do this year, who they would see, etc.  I hope they never lose that excitement for school.

After they not-so-patiently waited for me to get ready, we took some pictures and loaded into the car.

My beautiful 4th grader....next year is middle school!

Oh, Cooper.

I drove them to school and walked in with Cooper to make sure he could find his class. Amelia ditched us the minute we were through the doors and headed to the fourth grade wing. I asked her if she wanted me to walk her to her class and she rolled her eyes and said, "I can read Mom, I'll be fine." Well, okay then.

Cooper and I walked into his classroom where he immediately saw three kids he knew and started talking to them. I helped him find where to hang his backpack, then his desk. (Yes, he has a DESK now!) He was thrilled his teacher was wearing red pants, had a red dry erase marker and a red candy on his desk--he thought his teacher did it all deliberately because it is his favorite color. I showed him his folder, reader, and crayon box. After that he looked at me, put his hand over mine and said in a very patient and slightly condescending voice, "I'm good now, Mom, you can go."

Well. Alright. I guess. So I left.

His first desk. Sniff.

I don't have a picture of Amelia in her classroom. Why? Scroll up and re-read the part about her ditching us as soon as she set foot in the school. I thought about finding her classroom and taking a pic, but realized that may damage her socially, so I walked back out to my car. Alone.

I sat for a bit in the absolute silence and debated about what to do for the next six and a half hours. I could dust, vacuum, go grocery shopping, clean out drawers and toy boxes, sweep, mop, or do laundry.

Truthfully, I'll probably take a nap.

Happy First Day of School!!

Back To School Celebration

The two days before school begins we have a back-to-school celebration that stretches over both days. Monday we went bowling, where I bowled quite possibly my worst game in my entire career of bowling. FIVE gutterballs! That's NEVER happened. Then, because of our contacts, we had a free popcorn and game of mini golf in which I, again, had the worst game of my life. Good to know bowling and golf can be crossed off my "List of Things To Be Awesome At."

Looks sweet, doesn't she? She ANNIHILATED us.

Cooper firmly believed dancing after rolling the ball helped his luck.

We continued the day with an all-you-can-eat pizza lunch with friends. And let me tell you, a fourth and first grader can eat a lot of pizza.

We finished Monday with a playdate at friends' house for two and a half hours, while I ran errands, vacuumed the carpets, swept the floors and spot-mopped before the plumber came to fix the dishwasher.

Tuesday we went to the spray park, had a picnic and rode the carousel for the last time this summer. I'd post pictures of that but you've already seen those throughout the summer, so we don't need to recap, do we?

Later that afternoon we attended the party at the park put on by the city of Rexburg. It's lots of fun and incredibly insane. Here are some pics:

The funniest thing about their faces being painted is everyone Cooper saw after getting his mustache he would say in an British accent, "Jolly good show!"

It was fun, hot and a perfect way to end the summer. Hey, I even managed to get sunburned. Tomorrow Amelia and Cooper will start school, so stayed tuned for first day of school pics!

P.S. Autumn is 24 days away........

Summer Boredom

The last week of summer is always hard. Amelia and Cooper are tired of the spray park, picnics, bike rides, matinee movies, parks, and believe it or not--the heat. I struggle to find things to entertain them as the countdown to school enters the single digits.

Cooper was a little loopy the other day, and asked me to take his picture as he changed his hat and expression:

We found a hill Amelia and Cooper could roll down without pine cones.

Cooper picking up speed.

Amelia almost at the bottom.

Cooper jumping over Amelia. Don't worry, he cleared her head.....barely. On the other hand, a trip to the hospital for a cat scan would have livened up our day.

We have 8 days left before school starts. I am excited for a routine, but also a little sad both kids will be gone all day. Yesterday I realized I would eat lunch alone for the next nine months! I'll have about two weeks before my classes begin and I'm swamped with homework. I wonder what I'll do with all my free time until then? Oh right, try to get a straight answer on whether or not I passed a math test I took TWO WEEKS ago.

Enjoy the rest of summer, autumn is a mere 33 days away!

End of Soccer/Summer Wrapping Up

The time has come.....I received a letter in the mail ....the letter for school registration! We have about two weeks left of summer. I am happy/sad/excited/stressed about this. I am dying to get my children back to school and on a regular schedule, but I do enjoy waking up and not rushing around. I am also worried about Cooper going to school full-time. You all know his kindergarten experience was, well, challenging, but I'm hoping he'll do better in first grade. Amelia is thrilled to be the oldest grade in the elementary school, and she's excited to get back to her friends.

As summer wraps up, we finish up picnics, visits to the spray park, and our passes for the movies and carousel:

Cooper was grumpy and did not want to be in the picture.

We walk around campus and enjoy the student-free zone:

Cooper was amazed when I told him students stop here and read or study. He couldn't believe someone could study by a creek!

Mom and Dad came up for the day and we took them to see the new buildings, including the BYUI Center and remodeled Manwaring Center.

We also had our last soccer games. Both Amelia and Cooper want to play again next year, so I'd have to say it was a hit. I don't have as many pictures of Amelia playing because I was at her game the first half and she was a guard, so she didn't move much.

You can always tell when Cooper scored a goal, because that arm would go up, his hand would punch the air, and he'd have a huge smile on his face.

Cooper's team and coach.

Cooper and Amelia after their last game.

Amelia getting ready to kick off.

I am excited for autumn (as you all know) because I can't wait for cooler temperatures, leaves turning, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, sweaters, straw mazes, and everything else autumn brings. Happy August!

My Children Know Me So Well...

. ..they were making up " why the chicken crossed the road" jokes and Amelia said, "Cooper, why did Mom cross the road?" Cooper didn't know, so Amelia answered, "Because Jon (Bon Jovi) was on the other side!"


Sigh.

He's so handsome.

Eight Weeks of Bliss

Last week started the Eight Weeks of Bliss here Rexburg, ID. BYUI is on break until mid-September. The roads are clear, no one is proposing in the grocery store aisles, no half-naked kids sunbathing at the park, and empty sidewalks at the BYUI gardens. As soon as graduation was over, we hit the gardens for lovely strolls without the worry of snuggling couples around every turn! We had so much fun......until The Lunch Incident.

We were eating lunch at one of the many tables scattered throughout the gardens, having lovely conversation and enjoying each others company when we were interrupted by a creature so evil, so deadly, so frightening I tremble and cringe even as I type this------a BEE.

As luck would have it, it chose to first hover over Amelia's food. As she let out an ear-piercing shriek and began a hysterical sob of, "Bee! Bee! Bee! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Cooper, who is also wary of them quickly jumped up, grabbed his water, ran away to a safer bench, and sat down to drink and watch the show. Amelia couldn't get her chair out, so I quickly ran over and pulled it out and she took off, sobbing and crying. Luckily, Cooper stopped her as she flew past and said he'd protect her.

As they watched from afar, I bravely put my life on the line, packed up our lunch (we were almost done) and put everything back in the car. I made them go back into the Garden of Death, Despair and Deadly Animals because we were up there to time the distance between my classes in the fall to see if I had enough time to make it.  They grudgingly went with me, (because it was that or face nature's killers alone) but jumped at every flower we passed.

Good times, good times.

Oh, and by the way. No one was stung.

Friends in the Right Places

I have friends. They may not number in the thousands, but the ones I have are very loyal, close, life-long friends. Friends are handy. Friends are good for venting to, talking to, hanging out with, and a great laugh now and then. They are also good for getting into the drive-in for free.

So, in case you didn't catch my quite obvious hint, one of my good friends owns a theater and a drive-in. We have visited the theater frequently (it runs a summer movie program) but never ventured to the drive-in, mostly because the movie STARTS two hours past bedtime. I had mentioned I planned on going to the drive-in with my children on Thursday, and before I could finish my sentence my friend had shoved a gift-card in my hand for the drive-in and told me to use it for the entrance fee and any concessions we wanted. I tried to resist and tell her I had money, but she threatened to end our friendship if I didn't take it.

So I took it.

Thursday we took naps, hit our soccer games, then loaded up for the drive-in. Amelia and Cooper could just not comprehend how a drive in works, (how does the movie play outside? what if it rains? how will we hear it?) so I told them to just wait until we got there and all their questions would be answered. We arrived early and set up our chairs, snuggled into our sleeping bags and grabbed some popcorn (I didn't use the gift card for that---so we'll see if I still have a friend when she finds out!). Amelia and Cooper loved watching TV outside, and especially liked seeing the stars, moon, and bright lights of the city when we drove home later that night. It was a lot of fun and I think we'll try to squeeze in another trip before school starts!

Here's some pics:

Amelia tucked in her sleeping bag so no movie-loving snakes could slither over her feet or up her legs. Her words.

Getting darker, almost time for the movie to start!!

Cooper was thrilled to be out past his bedtime AND watching TV outside.