First Day of First Grade

Gracie was up at 6am on her first day of first grade. She was so excited..she was dressed, and ready to go. I don't know how she managed to make it through the next 3 hours, but finally at 9am we headed to school. This year was a little different than kindergarten. This year I took her into the gym, found her class line, and it was time to go. I hadn't even met her teacher yet, but the principal told us it was time to go. So I gave her a kiss and we headed downstairs for the PTO breakfast. I didn't really even get a chance to be sad, which was good, I might have lost it! When I picked her up at the end of the day I finally got to meet her teacher (and Ms. Karcher is awesome!). And best of all Gracie was so excited, and couldn't wait to go back the next day. She had a bunch of friends in her class and she LOVES her teacher. I couldn't ask for more. After school I took Gracie to the Cupcakery in town and let her pick out a yummy treat (and an extra one for lunch). We let Charlie pick out one too! And they were YUMMY!

*****Beware...sappiness to follow***** I still find it so hard to believe that my firstborn is in "real" school now! It really feels like just yesterday I was telling Wade that after just 6 months of marriage, we were having a baby! And how that baby girl changed our lives, made us grow up, but also took us back to our childhood. The first baby is the hardest, neither one of us had a clue how to raise or take care of a baby. But we did our best, and loved her a lot, and so far she's turned out pretty good. Gracie has made us so proud in her short (almost) seven years. Her outgoing, zest for life, is contagious, and it's hard to ever be down when she's around. I am so excited at how much she's learning and I love watching her grow. I know God has such big plans for her life..how lucky I am to be here to watch them unfold. Happy FIRST day of school..here's to many more FIRSTS!!!

A few extra

Here's a few more random pics taken over the summer...

Addy does this hilairous jumping thing, I really need to get this on video, it's so funny and impossible for an adult to do.

Oh dear..where did I leave my bottle????

She cracks me up..all day long..

This is a very rare pic of them actually getting along..wow!

My big FIRST Grader

A few days before school started Gracie and I ran out to get some ice cream..and well..the lighting was perfect, so we stopped off and took a few pictures. I keep trying to slow down the clock and hold onto my little girl. I am so sad she's growing so fast, but so happy that I get to be the one that she calls momma....:)

Fair Time

Wade thought it would be really fun to take the kids to the local fair and let them see a tractor pull. Yes, I realize that that makes us really hicks..but the kids LOVED it and I enjoyed a few hours of peace and quiet.

All ready to go, there's my cowgirl!

So pretty.... Hands up!

Charlie man sporting his cowboy hat too!

A fun day with Daddy!

Lazy summer days

I'm not sure how in the world summer can be almost over..it feels like it just began! I still had so much more I wanted to do with the kids! And this summer was a HOT one, so I'm glad that it will start cooling down, and fall really is my favorite season. Here's some of the fun we had this summer: Playing in the backyard Catching lightning bugs Roasting marshmallows Going to Six Flags Going swimming Going on vacation Having friends over for dinner Eating ice cream at Annie's Staying up late Sleeping in late Summer 2010 ROCKED!

We got a lot of fresh fruit from Gigi and Pappa's garden. The kids loved it when I put it all in with whip cream...yum!

Charlie loves to entertain us! And this girl loves trying out new foods

Big sis helping feed little sis

She did NOT like rice with zuchini..but we just kept feeding it to her..this face cracked us up!

VACATION!!!!

We had a blast last week on our vacation to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The weather reminded me of home in the Northwest..80-85 during the day (no humidity) and then cool and crisp in the evenings. The kids had a blast and kept asking me if we could just stay and live forever in our hotel.

Vacation 2010

Addy loungin' by the pool, this girl LOVES the water!

Not a great one, but a pic with all of us, so we'll take it!

Enjoying some pepsi freezes next to the pool

We swam every day, sometimes twice a day, and they loved every moment of it!

Charlie has gotten so good at swimming. He'll jump off the side and he loves to go under water. This is a BIG change from last year.

The fam, minus Addy (who was taking a little nap)

We went to one of the other hotels and they let us use their indoor/outdoor water park. It was a blast!

Wade took Gracie and Charlie on the lazy river and it was a little to calm for Adalyn.

She loved the baby area!

Relaxin' on the hamock

A great picture of Gracie and Charlie (except for Charlie sticking his tongue out..lol!)

I loved the bathroom..a BIG tub with jets AND a T.V. in the mirror. I used this every night!

What else do you do at a fancy hotel??? Jump on the beds!

We went to the public beach in town and let the kids play, they loved it! Charlie especially loved this hill of dirt..boys!

And since part of our trip was a work conference (Wade and his dad work for the same company) we got to have Gigi and Pappa along with us! Which was awesome, they helped so much with the kids!

My pretty girl..I can't believe she's going to be 7 in a month!!!!

Pretending to "surf" the hill

Charlie thought it was funny to chase the ducks

But, not so funny when they bit back!

Oh my!

Gotta get all warmed up again!

We stopped at rest stop and I snapped a quick pic of my girls in their matching shirts