VIP Party

As I mentioned in our last post, Emma got to start preschool this year. Rather than sending my kids to preschool, I much prefer to do co-ops with other moms. And, unlike the other moms, I love to go first. So, as with all of our other preschools, I got the privilege of breaking in this cute group of kiddos.

For the first few weeks we had a "getting to know you" theme. We focused on how we are all different, but all so special. I spotlighted each child, allowed them to bring "show-and-tell" items from home, and read stories from their moms. Then we closed out the unit with a big VIP party. Here we are at the end of the VIP party. (We didn't get the elastic on the hats yet--obviously.)



What a fun group we've got this year!

Kids' Fall Activities Roster

Monday:

Maddi's Piano Lessons



Maddi and Emma's Dance Classes







Tuesday:

Emma's Preschool



Maddi, Spence, and Emma's Gymnastics Classes



Thursday:

Emma's Preschool



Saturday:

Soccer Camp--Here are a few of the September pictures.















(And when soccer camp is over at the end of September, Saturday will switch to be Spencer's basketball day.)

Best Friends

We were over at the Anderson's today and I realized it had been a while since I had gotten a few pictures of our kiddos together. These kids have grown up together, literally.







Remember these photos from their "Once Upon A Time I Lived in St. Louis" books?







It's amazing how much they have changed and grown. And the pictures of Maddi and Spencer go even further back. Check out a few really old ones of Maddi and Abbie.













And a few with Spencer and Josh too.





It's so nice to have best friends! I don't know what we'll all do next year when we have to part ways!

On Call

Some of Nick's colleagues snapped this picture of him one night when he was on call. I think the picture pretty much speaks for itself, especially if you look closely and notice that his right hand is mid-click.

First Day of School

After seven wonderful weeks of summer vacation, it was time again to kick off another school year, this time with Maddi AND Spencer as students. (Spencer wasn't officially a kindergartener last year, just unofficially.) The kids and I were both really excited-maybe me most of all. Even though I had an extremely productive summer--there's just so much you can't get to when you're homeschooling--I still felt this hole in my life. I really couldn't believe how much I missed teaching while we were off. And how much of a disconnect I felt by always being too busy for time with the kids. Don't get me wrong, they needed outside time and time with friends, but I just felt like I was always shooing them away while I was working on this or that. It felt wrong, and I was so glad to lay everything aside for another nine months and be ready to focus just on the kids for a while.

And so, on the day after Labor Day, the same day as their public school classmates, we kicked off our school year. The kids were darling about it too. We went and bought new school clothes and school supplies just like everyone else. And they got their notebooks and folders, outfits and shoes laid out the night before. Maddi even begged to have her hair hot-rolled for the first day. Even Emma wanted to be a part of it all, even though she doesn't start her preschool until next week. It makes me laugh, because after all, we're just staying home, but it's all they know.
And it's wonderful. Here my little cuties are at the end of the first day.

Ten Year Anniversary Dinner

Can anyone believe that we've been married for ten years!? As our anniversary rolled around this year, I sure couldn't. It's all gone by so fast. It's crazy to think that ten years ago, on this day, we were kneeling over the alter. So much has happened since then...

In honor of our very special day, Nick planned an incredible night out just for the two of us. He took me to one of the nicest restaurants in town, where there were flowers and candles waiting for us. The waitresses and staff treated us like royalty the whole night, and at the end of the dinner brought us out a little wedding cake that Nick had specially ordered.





Then they handed me a little jewelry box with a special gift in it. A wedding band! I think they were all pretty disappointed when I opened it, but not me. I asked Nick for a plain wedding band when we got engaged, but he of course went for the big diamond. Now, ten years later, he's secure enough to finally get me a plain old band that I can wear in the everyday. I love it! And I think it officially means that our engagement is over and the wedding is sealed Happy anniversary Nicholas! Thanks for a wonderful evening! And cheers to our anniversary getaway coming up in a few weeks!

Can we say "Jammie Swap"?

What a silly crew!

Walking in Mommy's Shoes

Mason's baby blessing said that he was sent to our family because of the relationship we shared in the pre-mortal life. It also said that we shared similar destinies and that our paths in life would be much the same. In other words, I have thought it would be safe to say that Mason might "walk in his mother's shoes." While this might be a little too literal a fulfillment of that prophecy, I guess it counts on some level. It's a good start anyway.

Mine aren't the only shoes he's walking in though. And hopefully this in no way reflects a fulfillment of any prophecy--literal or metaphoric!

Picture Perfect

Sometimes I just love the view from our back porch. It's crazy to think we're closing out our last summer in Rochester. Oh how I will miss my Rochester summers!!