Tug Tug Tug

Today the boy tugged at our heartstrings harder than any of the past 10 days of Kindergarten, including the very first day.

Carie went up to help the K teachers with a project this morning before heading off to her part-time gig. We hope that she'll be able to continue to volunteer with the K's and the 3rd graders each week, just another perk of her paid gig being part-time.

So this morning was her first day helping out in the K wing, and it was tough for our boy. I've been secretly worried for months that he would get to school and decide it wasn't his cup of tea. I was worried that he was too ready, if that's possible. But he seems to be enjoying his experience. Getting ready in the morning has really been smoother than we anticipated. He's just been so pleasant to get up and out the door! He hasn't hesitated once to get on the bus to head off to school. At the end of the day he is so excited to share everything with us in great detail, something that neither of his sisters have ever done. Sounds perfect, right?

This morning we got a glimpse of that other side. Carie was in and out of the classroom, working on things for the teacher, working with the students at their stations, etc... She got to spend time with him at his stations. But then it was time to go and Spencer really wanted to go with her. It's so clear that he enjoyed being able to stay home with Mommy all these years that he's really missing it now.

He didn't throw a fit or make a scene, no that's not how our boy responds to these situations in public. Oh he's naturally loud and calls attention to himself quite regularly, when he's happy he just doesn't realize it. But this morning Carie could immediately tell that he was holding it all back. He was trying to keep himself all collected and not draw attention to himself. He's so like one of his sisters in this regard... classic classic Abby!

So the goodbyes at school were quite emotionally tough on the both of them. After hearing about it all over the phone I just wanted to go give him a big hug.

She did ask him what he would like for snack this afternoon. He decided that he would really like banana bread AND he wanted to make it with her. So, they'll bond over making banana bread after school today just like in the olden days.

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They are home from school and apparently he recovered quite nicely. He's being particularly loud and obnoxious, borderline annoying I guess you could say.

First Day of School... version 2010

What a big day!

Today marks the first day of 3rd grade for Abby & Ellie and the first day of Kindergarten for Spencer.

End of Summer = Big Change

I think this blog could definitely file for neglect.

As any family with young children, there's so much life to document. There are so so many thoughts bouncing around my head each and every day. Getting it down on the proverbial paper seems to have taken the backseat. Heck, even capturing our memories through photography has taken a backseat... and when I do take pictures they sit on the huge memory card indefinitely. Photography has been a passion of mine and yet I feel as if I need a jump start. I know what triggered this funk... I just can't seem to get my groove back.

Since I last wrote (ahem, nearly 6 months ago) Abby & Ellie wrapped up their year as 2nd graders and Spencer completed his final days as a pre-schooler, complete with a graduation ceremony. Carie wrapped up another year of volunteering at school. Saying "goodbye" to our teachers continues to be difficult. This year may have been the hardest yet. I wrapped up my first year as the PTA President and found myself elected to continue those duties for another year. It is quite rewarding to be involved at school on this level, if not also challenging and time consuming.

In early May both Abby & Ellie opted to join a local swim team for their summer season, which then quickly consumed our life with a lengthy practice 3 days a week and a longer swim meet on a 4th day. It was an amazing experience for all of us. They love swimming so much, it was incredible to watch their progress and witness their joy. We get a short break in August and the Fall/Winter swim team starts up again in early September. The girls are already looking forward to the next season. Oddly, we are already looking forward to getting back into that routine.

Spencer played baseball during the spring season and absolutely loved it. We've opted to skip the fall season (unbeounced to him) in favor of keeping our month of August totally activity free. Though now I'm feeling horribly guilty about this decision.

All three kiddos had a birthday this spring. Spencer turned 5 in late April and the girls turned 8 in early June.

To celebrate Spencer's birthday we had a combo friend and family birthday party at a nearby activity center. We love going to this place and having his party there was a huge hit.

To celebrate Abby & Ellie's birthday we had a special adventure! They each invited a friend to hang out with on their special day. We went horseback riding, played miniature golf, did mani's and pedi's, had a bonfire, and had a sleepover. All four girls had an absolute blast hanging out with each other. I'm so glad we went this route over a larger party. We then held a family party for them at my Grandma's retirement center. While my Grandma thinks she can get around our house with all of our stairs, we think differently. It was super nice to use a room at her facility that had easy access and a large enough room for all of our guests. And to be totally honest, setup and cleanup was more than a piece of cake!

Our summer is about to wrap up. All school registration is this afternoon, open house is next Monday, and their first day of school is on Wednesday. We've had such a great summer that I don't want it to end. I do look forward to the end of the summer season, if only we could continue their break and our family time. We are busy over the summer doing fun summer camps and such. But there's something about sending them into the next grade that isn't desirable for me.

Speaking of summer camps, it was another successful summer. We typically have a full week-ish off at the start of summer and a full week-ish off at the end of summer but everything in the middle is booked with activities. Outside of their camps and activities, we also get to do other fun family activities... Library reading program, Royals Baseball games, big zoo, little zoo, our Children's Museum, Lincoln Children's Museum, Activity Center, Splash Parks here and here, Papio Bay, Mahoney Water Park, Bowling, Go Carts, etc... While there were many things I think we wish we would have done, I think we had a fabulous summer as a family!

All the kids were able to participate in our districts "summer school" (summer camp) program. I wish they would call it something other than "summer school" because it's not at all like their other (more mandatory) "summer school" program. This was Spencer's first year of eligibility and he was thrilled to be able to participate with the older kids. It's totally a fun summer program where they can take enrichment type classes in science, music, Spanish, math, etc... This program is held at a new "host" elementary school each summer. It's just a morning program over the course of a few weeks and it's very reasonably priced, which we love.

The next couple of weeks were dedicated to swimming lessons at our High School. Since Abby & Ellie were swimming so much with swim team, they opted to take the spectator role this round. Spencer was so incredibly pleased with himself that he passed his level and gets to move onto level 3! Of course, he wanted to start that "right now".

Then Abby & Ellie got to participate in a Totally Cool Math & Science Camp through UNO. They were so excited about this opportunity. This was quite possibly the highlight of their summer. We drove by the night before to check out directions and parking. As we turned onto campus the girls’ eyes got REALLY huge. It was then that they realized they were "going to college" (their words). We've talked all along about how it would be at UNO but it became quite clear that they didn't really know what that meant. Abby thought it would be at another elementary school like her other summer camp. We were then bombarded with hilarious (but very real to them) questions. They were clearly a little (more than) nervous! Thankfully they seemed satisfied with all of our answers and drop off the next morning went very smooth for all of us. At the end of the day they were so excited they were bouncing off the walls. Needless to say, they had an amazing week. They think they are hot stuff now that they've gotten to go to college. Thankfully for us, as incoming 3rd graders, they could only participate in one class. But next year there are 18 camp options. They are going to have to make some tough decisions!

Last week was all about Spencer and his "camp". Our elementary school was awarded a grant that allowed them to offer a Jump Start to K program. All incoming K's were invited to participate. It was a very short afternoon program that allowed him an opportunity to spend time with his teacher (whom he already knows) and his classmates. While they got to do some school work, they also got to enjoy all the perks of going out for recess, snack time, and play time in the classroom. While we believe he is totally ready for K, we thought it was a great opportunity to meet some friends before that big first day. He seemed to really love going to Jump Start once he got there, but the first few days he would say "I don't want to go today" or "I'm taking today off". We think he just didn't want to leave the other kids and whatever fun they were having without him.

Somewhere in there we found a perfect time to dedicate a long weekend towards a family vacation. We got out of town but stayed close to home. Limiting our drive time seemed ideal and something we appreciated when we were en route and heard "are we there yet" numerous times. We got to spend a fair amount of time swimming at the hotel, a huge plus for our kids. We enjoyed a full day at Adventureland and a couple of days at the Science Center. Total kid vacation. Making them happy makes me happy.

But now, like it or not, it's about time to move onto the next chapter. Abby & Ellie are headed (full force) into 3rd grade and Spencer is headed to Kindergarten. All three of our kiddos are full time elementary students. How did that happen?

Thankfully, for us, they are all super excited about going back to school. The girls love school so much; it makes our jobs as parents easy! Spencer is really looking forward to being a Kindergartner and we think he'll share his sisters’ love for school as well.

With all the kids in school full time, Carie has taken the opportunity to find work outside the home. She was very fortunate to get hired on for a part time gig in our school district which will allow her to be available before school, after school, and during school breaks to continue to be the awesome SAHM that she has been for the past 8 years.