Back to School 2013-2014

Another school year has begun!  I can't believe it.  Summer just flew by this year.

We now have a Kindergartner, Second Grader, Fifth Grader, Seventh Grader and Eighth Grader.

This school year Liam starts All day Kindergarten.  Thursday was his first day of school.  The day before I felt my emotions on the surface the entire day.  We went to play at open gym and he and I were running around laughing, playing with the balls, bouncing, kicking, just having a great time.  All of a sudden I realized this would be our last noon time open gym together and I got misty eyes.  I wanted to just hold on to that moment forever.  I always have a hard time when my babies go to school for the first time.  Liam is my little buddy, we have a special connection so it was especially hard letting him go for 8 hours a day.  To be honest I'm still questioning my decision to let him go all day....or to let him go at all!!

Official first day pictures:

Aidan had a particularly hard time with Liam leaving. Liam and Aidan are very close to each other.  Liam says they are "Best Brothers."  Aidan loves Liam so much and wants to do everything like him.  Aidan can say his "L's" perfectly but he calls his brother "Me-am" because Liam is merely an extension of Aidan.  Of course, they had to get a picture together and then Aidan spent the rest of the day asking if could go to school now.  He cried for at least an hour straight by mid-morning and when I had to explain to him for the 125th time that he couldn't go he was hard to console.

And with his teacher, Mrs. Maggard.  This was actually taken Tuesday night at Sneak Peek, where he got to meet the teacher and drop off his supplies.

Julianna is a 2nd grader this school year and Elise is a 5th grader.  Back in the Spring we made the decision that the girls would be homeschooled this year.  It is a huge leap of faith for me because I feel really inadequate.  I've researched and researched and poured my heart and soul into studying curriculum. I have really tried to find out what will be best with their learning styles. I am excited to spend the one on one time getting to truly know them.  I've really felt led to homeschooling and I'm trusting in The Lord.  It's hard to explain and wholly personal but I know that ultimately I'm doing the right thing for my little girls and they are so excited for the new experiences we are going to have at the Bowles Academy this year.  

Elise, 5th Grade

Julianna, 2nd Grade

They wanted a picture with their teacher....silly girls....

Lastly, my two big middle schoolers.  Ashlynne is in 8th grade this year.  Cheerleading, singing in the choir and also singing in the Kansas City youth choir Allegro.  I can't believe she is in her last year of middle school!  Next year we add seminary and high school to the mix!  Somebody press pause!!!

Brinton is in 7th grade and already I can tell he is much more mature this year than last. We went to the school to get his stuff in his locker and he kind of walked the halls like he owned the place, like he belonged.  There was a new confidence in him that I'd never really seen before.  He opened his locker on the first try, which was something that was really difficult at the beginning of last year.  He is playing cello in the orchestra again this year and also takes private cello lessons.  He is thinking he might try Cross Country this year. We are only a few days in but so far so good....fingers crossed.

Our family theme this school year is "O be wise..." {Jacob 6:5} with the reminder to be wise in all that we do.  Be wise in our choices, be wise in our daily dealings, be wise in our studies...so here is to te new school year.  Be Wise.

Elise Birthday Party

So it's obvious that I'm awful at blogging.  I'm great at facebook.  I'm awesome at instagram.  I stink at blogging.  I really do wish it was easier to blog from my phone because honestly having a free minute to sit in front of an actual computer to write a blog is just a foreign concept.  Having a free minute. period. is a  foreign concept.  I'm always on the go....always doing some chore or chauffeuring or running some errand or nursing a baby or making a meal or I'm just plain to tired to think so I sit on the couch staring into outer space while the laundry piles up around me and Aidan makes some awful tornadic mess.  (My spell check is telling me TORNADIC is not a word, oh well.)

I really don't feel like life is all that interesting to blog about.  It's easier for me to capture a quick picture on instagram then to capture a whole story for the blog.  Weird.  The kids and I were looking through the blog the other day and they just love all the old pictures and stories and....  Well I suppose this blog is sort of like a family journal since I don't scrapbook anymore (quit that when Elise was a year old) and I don't have a real journal anymore. 

Soooo....Prepare for photo dump....

Elise turned 10 on December 10th.  What we call her "GOLDEN BIRTHDAY"  Golden birthdays are huge in our family and we always try to go allllll out on the party.  Elise's birthday is always a tricky one because it's right at Christmas time and we can never find a day to do a party when people can actually attend.  It's just hard to compete with holiday parties, recitals, church functions, Christmas shopping, you name it!!  We decided to hold off until January to have the party.  Then our whole family got sick and we tried to get back to the routine of school and....oh my gosh planning a party was insane.  This was supposed to be her GOLDEN BIRTHDAY and I totally shirked.  POOP!!!!!!!  It was approaching the end of January, so I decided to throw together a party in 3 days.  I allowed her to invite 3 friends to Cosmic Jump (no siblings, just her and her friends) and then back to our house for pizza, cake, music and dancing (family included).  It was PERFECT.  She had so much fun and she kept talking about it for days after.  SUCCESSSSSSS!!!

School Days, School Days....

It's that time of year again...yay!! This year I'll have a preschooler (Liam), 1st grader (Julianna), 4th grader (Elise), 6th grader (Brinton), and 7th grader (Ashlynne) and of course the babies at home. It seems so odd to me that I have 2 middle schoolers this year. I hardly feel like an adult most days so it really does just mess with my head sometimes.

This week has been jam packed with Back to School activities starting with a 6th Grade Welcome Night on Monday where the 6th graders got to go to the middle school and go to a pep rally, ice cream social and take some time to find classes and try opening lockers. Aidan tore Brinton's schedule and combo to shreds so we had to come back the next day and practice.  It was kind of nice to go when it was quiet though because it was less  chaotic. I'm so proud of Brinton because he was able to open it 9 times out of 10!

 It was also a special night for Ashlynne because it was the first pep rally she got to perform in as a 7th grade cheerleader. They got to lead the fight song and the crowd involvement cheers...I was so proud!(there is a little video of her doing the fight song on Facebook if you are facebook friends with me)

Elise and Julianna are my only two left at the elementary school this year. Elise has always had an older sibling with her in school and now it's her turn to be the biggest sister in the school. She was so protective over Nanna so I think she is settling into the role nicely. Tuesday night they had their Sneak Peek Ice Cream Social where they got to meet their teachers, check out their classrooms, drop off their supplies and of course eat ice cream. Elise was so excited that she woke up and got dressed at 6am but it didn't even begin until 5PM!!! Every so often she would let me know how much longer till we needed to be there and complaining about how slow the day was going. I was totally over the whole thing before I even got there but I'm glad she is so eager to learn.

Julianna and her first grade teacher at the Sneak Peek on Tuesday

Elise and her 4th grade teacher at the Sneak Peek

ICE CREAM!

 

Today, the 15th, was the actual 1st day of school for elementary and the 6th graders at the middle school. They like to give the 6th graders one day without all the 7th and 8th graders to get used to the school and relax. I don't think they even went to any classes today just got to know every one and had an assembly and lunch.

Here are their first day of school pics for the day....

More later because tomorrow it's Ashlynne's first day!!!

Peter Pan....

For Mothers Day my husband bought me tickets to 3 different Broadway Musicals at the outdoor "Starlight Theater" The first one in June was "In Da Heights" and I was soooo super excited to see this Tony Award winning musical about living in Washington Heights, NY. The music, the spanglish, the "flavor" reminded me of home. It went above and beyond my expectations. Really.

The next show was Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. The second I saw that he had chosen it I knew I wanted to bring Elise with me. Elise is my theater kid! She's over dramatic, imaginative, and tons of fun. She's also quite innocent for a 9 year old. For instance, she still thought Elmo was real up until a few months ago when I totally rocked her world when we watched the documentary "Being Elmo" about the puppeteer who "is" Elmo. Lol. I was so sad to blow it for her.

Anyway, I knew she would love the music, the action, and of course the flying! It's all still so magical to her. She doesn't see strings holding people up or that tinkerbell is just a flashing ball of light. To Elise every little piece is real and it's magic.

Since I'm due to have a baby any time now I've been really trying to have little one on one "dates" with each of my kids before their little sister joins the family. Peter Pan came at a perfect time for Elise's date. We started our evening off with dinner wherever she wanted to go, she picked Golden Corral (for the desserts of course).

Then we headed out to the Starlight Theater. I only wish we would've gotten there earlier because they had all these pre-show activities for the show and we missed almost everything. They had music and fairy dancing, fairy nail polish for the girls, a coloring table, meet Tinkerbell, a huge bouncy pirate ship, balloon swords, and a treasure hunt. We were told to "walk the plank" and have our picture taken so we started there. (I think it's funny that this photo *almost* hides my belly and I *almost* look normal)

After walking the plank we headed to the other activities but every line we got in we were told they were already closed. :( Elise was kinda sad but she took the let down really easily. As Tinkerbell was leaving her area she sprinkled Elise with two huge handfuls of Pixie Dust and the people at the Treasure Hunt let her dig in the sand for Treasure even though they were closed. She also got a photo with Mother Earth that had absolutely nothing to do with Peter Pan but happened to be there for photo ops anyway.

With Tinkerbell just before she threw Pixie Dust at her....

Can you see the flecks of Pixie Dust?  

It doesn't look like there is a lot but it's been a week and I'm still trying to get it all out!

Digging for Gold Coins in the Pirate Treasure Chest.  When she found one she was given a goodie bag full of pixe sticks and pirate-y stuff.

This is MOTHER EARTH.  Not sure how she fit in with the whole Peter Pan thing but Elise LOVED her costume.

When the show started she was so super excited. Just as I suspected she LOVED the music and the flying.
At the end of the show Cathy Rigby (the one who played Peter Pan) went flying out over the audience throwing pixie dust on everyone. I'm pretty sure this was the highlight of the night for Elise.

I think next year we'll get tickets for the whole family for the "family show" because Starlight Theater certainly made it wildly fun for everyone.