School starts

Friends sent me these pictures. I always appreciate when other people help capture our life events! 

I worry sometimes that my kids will look back on their childhood of all my pictures and think all we did was play all day. We also work hard at keeping our house clean. 

Our back to school dinner was at a Mexican Restaurant. I kept holding back the tears. 

Wednesday morning came and these three jumped out of bed ready to take on a new school year. Eleanor squealed with delight that she could ride the bus with the boys. I cried myself to sleep. I always get sad when school starts, but it's especially heart wrenching when it's time for kindergarten. I've been at home every day with my kids and for some reason, five years just flies by. I can't even comprehend how it was time for Eleanor to start school. Didn't I just drop Eli off for kindergarten? Didn't Austin just go off to his first day of kindergarten? Is it really Eleanor's turn to go? 

The kids jumped right on the bus ready for their first day. My neighbor ended up being at the school to help the teachers. She texted me these pictures of Eleanor. I started bawling. She walked right in and was ready to go. In some ways, I wish I could have walked her down the hall and into her classroom, but I knew it would be easier for all of us if she hopped on the bus. I'm grateful the boys were there to walk her to her classroom. 

Adelaide woke up sick that morning. I planned to take her to story time and to get a donut, but we cuddled on the coach instead. She fell back asleep in my arms while I cried on the couch. Our house was so quiet and still. I miss the kids when they leave. Routine is good for all of us. I counted down the second until I could pick them up. We're changing things a bit this year. Instead of the kids riding the bus home, I pick them up. It's worked out really well each day. I love that we get to have 20 more minutes together each day after school. 

Eleanor came right home and shared her first day of school work!

Adelaide did wake up feeling better. I've been waiting for the perfect time to pull out this tea set that Leona gave to Adelaide. The first day of school felt like the right time. She played with it for hours. 

On the second day of school, we went to Wal-mart where Adelaide got a little donut!

Our pool is still opened so we invited toddler friends to come and swim with us. 

Eleanor brought her art project home. I feel like we've officially been in KC for a long time now because I remember Austin bringing home the exact same project. I found his David art project picture too!

Saturday morning we slept in. Aaron took Eli to football practice then we all headed to the Chief's pre-season game. We had a blast!! The Chiefs won!!

Sunday found us relaxing all day with Duane and LeeAnn. LeeAnn had a flight to Utah where she'll be for the next three months. Her flight was delayed several times so lucky for us, we were able to spend the whole day together! 

Aaron started back to teaching seminary today. I didn't get a picture of him! This is his second year teaching. Last fall was a bit hard for me so I'm determined to make this a better experience for us all. Today felt like a great start! 

Final weeks of summer

We spent lots of hours at Ocean's of fun this summer. 

An older lady in our ward gave us some bubbles. The kids were entertained all Sunday afternoon. 

We got to pet sit our neighbor's little dog and we all love her so much. 

We've missed our neighbors since they moved away a year ago so we loved having them over for the day to swim with us. It felt like old times. 

We tried a new donut recipe. They were a hit! I did mess up on the first batch and wanted to stop, but then I realized it was a great life lesson for my kids - don't quit when you make a mistake. Try again. We tried again and loved these little donut holes. 

We spent an entire day cleaning and organize the boys room. Eli and Austin both said they love how their room feels. I love it too. 

Eleanor got her turn for a date with mom! We enjoyed frozen yogurt. She colored a picture and was excited when the lady let her tape it to the wall. 

I love having the boys around to help. Aaron was gone for the week so I asked them to burn some papers that had confidential information from our old car that we sold. 

Austin's a busy little scientist. 

My flowers have bloomed! 

We went to the beach with friends one Saturday. Adelaide snuck in a little car nap on the way home. 

More cleaning. This time we attacked the basement. It's funny how the kids play with their toys more when everything is neatly organized. 

Since we were home cleaning, it worked out to help my friend when she called in a bit of a panic and needed to get to the labor and delivery center at the hospital. We're grateful everything was okay with her baby and she arrived home after a few hours. 

We walked to QT and met Eli's friend along the way who showed us a hidden park. 

These two laughed the morning away. I love their sister relationship. 

We took a group of friends to the splash park. I love having my van full of friends!

We have tomatoes! Lots and lots of tomatoes! 

We squeezed in a quick trip to the children's museum. Thanks to our military ID, we get in free during the summer. 

Another flower is about ready to bloom!

On Thursday we had back to school night. The kids got to meet their teachers. We're looking forward to a great year. 

I went into our bathroom and found these pencil shavings all over the floor. I started to get mad and then calmed down because I remembered asking the kids to sharpen all their pencils to put in their school supplies. I'm grateful they took the initiative to do something on their own, even though it created another mess for me to clean up. (Aaron cleaned it up!)

Adelaide had a tough time sleeping this week. I didn't mind the extra cuddles, especially since Aaron was traveling for the week. 

It was exciting to watch our flowers grow a little more each day.