{third grade}

My Emily is now officially a third grader. And she is so EXCITED about it. Normal people dread the last day of summer vacation because they just don't want it to end. Emily, on the other hand, was wishing the whole day away yesterday because she could not wait to get to school. Maybe it's the excitement of a new teacher, or new school supplies, or seeing friends she hasn't seen in awhile. Whatever it is, she is so very ready.



We've had her first day outfit picked out for a couple of weeks. I don't know if it's influence from her little sister, or what,  but my girl has gone very girly. There was no question that she was wearing this dress on the first day. The only difference in what we put out last night, to what she ended up wearing this morning, is the pants. It was fifty degrees this morning. Of course it was. Weather this year has not been great - and this morning was no exception.



But that didn't kill any of her excitement.



She even got a new backpack. Hopefully this one looks good for few years - unlike her light pink one that was dirty after a few weeks. Note to self - only dark colored backpacks are acceptable.



Paige was not a happy camper early this morning. When I woke her up she thought today was her first day of school as well. I pulled out her capri jeans and Hello Kitty shirt to put on to walk to the bus stop and she remarked that "this was not her first day outfit". When I told her that she doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon, she was not very happy. There were tears. But she got over it after a while when I told her that she gets to have her very own special first day - all by herself.



So, off she went. All grown up. Sort of.....

{silly girls}

I have completely lost my blogging mojo. Which, after almost four years of bloginess, is, i guess, to be expected. I have tons and tons of photos that are waiting to be blogged. Really cute ones. You wanna see them? Then please, send me some mojo. Maybe it's the unstructured summer we are having. Maybe my blog posts will come back in a week after school begins. SIX MORE DAYS. :)

In the meantime, enjoy my very silly girls.

{no tears}

Fall softball is underway. Emily has had a couple of practices. But the month break from hitting and catching is pretty evident, and we felt like she needed a little bit of extra practice at home. So, the other night, Eric took her outside to work with her. At first, she was having a pretty good time. But, then a couple of minutes later, she wasn't.



Even though I have told her, and told her that the only way you get good at something is with lots and lots of practice - she still gets very frustrated when she can't catch a ball or hit a ball within a few tries. So, then there are tears. And the hitting and catching get worse because, really, who can see through those tears?



And doesn't she know? There's no crying in baseball. Or softball, either.

{lack of owl}

Sometimes I forget that I have some really great pictures hanging out on my memory card. These two photos I took a few weeks ago, in the early evening when the light is so, so pretty. I had just completed the owls that I made for both my girls, and wanted them to pose with their new pets. I guess I was very captivated by the girls and not the owls because they are barely featured in either one of these pictures. In fact, if I didn't tell you about them, you would not even notice they were there. But you definitely notice these beautiful girls.....



So, to be fair, here are the girlies and their new owl friends. Emily named hers Ojibwa - after her school mascot. Paige named hers Sweetie - after ?? I am considering making a few more and selling them at the Mom to Mom sale in October. And by that, I mean I am kind of, almost, sorta, slightly thinking about it.

{aunt ingi was here}

 

more to come...

{shhhhh...don't tell}

I give my kids Kool-Aid. In this day and age, that's probably cause for a phone call to child and family services. If it makes you feel any better....it's sugar-free. Actually, that's probably worse, right?



I drank tons of the stuff when I was a kid, and look at me. Ummmm...actually, that's probably still not making it better, is it?



This face probably belongs on a poster with the tagline:
Help this child now - her parents give her Kool-Aid.

(and yes, my kids also drink from Christmas cups all year....)

{beachy}

Finally got ourselves to Lake Michigan this past weekend. It was a bit chillier than last year, but it was still awesome. More photos to come....