Soccer begins

Yesterday was the official beginning of the soccer season for JR. JC isn't playing this year, and HT doesn't have games until after Labor Day. Due to a scheduling conflict, I wasn't able to go to the game yesterday, but JR's team won 8-6. Today I got to see the game, and was so excited that JR got an assist on the first goal scored today! It was a painful game though, as we were ahead most of the game until the last 10 minutes when the other team scored four goals to win 4-2. Still plenty of soccer left to be played though!

Week 1 is in the books!

We've survived the first three days of the school year. Frankly, the kids are adjusting better than I am. Oh, I have no problem adjusting to them being gone, but I have a major problem adjusting to getting up in the morning! The kids are really enjoying school, and I'm really enjoying hearing about their days each day. High school football also begins this evening. My husband is no longer coaching, but he is doing stats for the high school team he used to coach, so he's off to that this evening and HT is with my sister for the evening. After JC and I picked JR up from scouts, we brought in Chinese and now it's movie night!

And so it begins...

Another school year has arrived. Last night was open house, and we were able to meet all of the teachers and see the classrooms. For JC it was simple, she has the same second grade teacher JR had two years ago. For JR, it means a year of changing classes and having multiple teachers. And for HT, it means his first day of kindergarten. The older two told me this morning that they didn't need me to walk them to school today. Even though they had walked to and from school themselves last year, I still had planned to walk up with them today. Instead, a neighbor and friend of JR, who happens to be in the same homeroom, came over and walked with them. I smiled to myself as I heard JR and his friend make plans to sit by each other, and other normal kid things. HT goes in the afternoon so I walked him up after lunch. I was able to walk him to his classroom, and take some pictures of him at his table. He was already playing with new friends and didn't even hear me say good-bye when I left. I'm so grateful to share these milestone moments with my wonderful kids!

Last day of break

Today is our last day of summer break. Tomorrow it is back to the routine that school brings. The kids are so excited, and for that I'm very grateful. Today we spent the day visiting my mom and grandmothers. I enjoyed the adult company, they enjoyed seeing the kids, and it kept the kids from hanging out in front of the TV all day. I have two of the three school bags packed for tomorrow, and school clothes are already laid out and ready to go for tomorrow. It seems hard to believe it's here...where did the summer go? I think we all really enjoyed our summer though, and I have many wonderful memories from it.

Lazy day

We are have a very lazy day here today, and we are loving every minute of it! I can't get over how relaxing and laid back today is, and I'm wondering why we didn't do more of it this summer. Tomorrow is the first day back for my husband to school, and I will be babysitting tomorrow as well. The kids start back to school on Wednesday. I think we are all ready to be getting back into some kind of routine. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this very precious down time...soon it will be very, very difficult to find days like today!

Last week

Hard to believe that this is the last full week before school starts. Today is going to be a bunch of errand running since the van goes in tomorrow for repairs. I'm really looking forward to my last grasp of a slow pace this week, but I'm not really sure how slow it's actually going to be. I'm also looking forward to having a little more time to blog. I feel badly that we had such a wonderful summer with great memories, but I didn't really take the time to share them!

Settling in

Our week began with a bang...literally. On our way home Monday from the lake we were involved in a minor traffic accident. It was our fault, but no one was hurt. We had been counting John Deere sightings on our way home, and as we resumed the trip after the crash HT announced, "Seventeen John Deeres and one boom boom." The van should be going in for repairs this week. We also babysat extra kids on Wednesday, and other than that we are settling in for back to school. The kids enjoyed an afternoon at the pool yesterday and were also able to see who their teachers will be for the coming year. I'm sure they are all going to have a good year. I'm not really ready for the rigorous schedule that school brings, but I am looking forward a bit to a routine and some quieter afternoons!

The craziness continues!

Our last week has not gone quite according to our plan. Sunday evening we had a very nice dinner with my parents. It was at their house that JC announced she wasn't feeling well. Sure enough, Monday when she woke up the fever had spiked. Strep throat again! We were supposed to leave Tuesday to go back to my in-laws, but she still wasn't up to making the trip that day. My husband took the boys to a movie (since it meant we weren't going to the amusement park with the grandparents), and we stayed home and listed to the rain pound all afternoon. We hit the road Wednesday, and my husband, his parents, and the kids went to MLB game Thursday evening. HT's first major league game! Yesterday we drove home so JR wouldn't miss soccer practice, and my husband went over to a friend's house to help frame a basement. At 11:30 last night the phone rang. A friend had managed to drive a nail through his foot so the guys were taking him to the E/R. They weren't able to get the entire nail removed, but they did finally send him home. My husband arrived home about 6:30 this morning. Not exactly how they had anticipated their evening! Tomorrow we are headed back up to my dad's place at the lake for one last night there, and also to help Dad with some things. Only two weeks until school begins again...it might actually be calmer then!

Enjoying quiet time

It actually is truly quiet here this evening. I almost don't know what to do! My husband is at a guys' night, and the kids are in bed. We had a wonderful time last weekend with our friends during our childless weekend, and then we had more fun this past week with our guests. They arrived Monday and were here until early this morning. We visited so many fun sites in the area and they even brought some of their extended family with them, and we got to meet more people. It was wonderful hanging out with everyone. I can't describe how special these people are to our family, and how connected we feel even to their extended family. We last saw them 24 hours ago and we miss them already! Not a lot of down time though, as Tuesday we are back on the road to our in-laws...this time for amusement parks and baseball games. It's been a truly memorable summer with lots of action packed fun!