Met Emmy's Teacher

Well, I finally got to meet Emmy's teacher today and we figured out which room she is going to be in and found out who else is in her class. Yay - Kindergarten Camp is all done! Hopefully now she can settle into what school will be like and I am hopeful that she will enjoy her teacher and really love school this year. She looked a bit overwhelmed when I left the school to walk back home this morning, but she's a trooper so I'm sure she will do fine. She was very excited to have a place with her name to hang up her coat and backpack - finally something to show she belongs there! Now we're praying for a good year and that it will all go smoothly for her and that she will love school!

Back to School

Well, the girls are busy at school already and I've gotten all the tears out of my system for the morning at least. They were so excited this morning to get going! When it was time to walk, Emmy didn't want me to even come with: I had to talk her into it! We walked over with our neighbor who helps out in different rooms at the school and got Emmy to her class first.

Hopefully the Kindergarten Camp trial run goes well for her and the other kids. Today, Thursday and Friday they are going to just be getting kids used to the different rooms in the school and all the kindergarten teachers. Then by the time they go home on Friday they will be assigned to their actual teacher for the year. The theory is that they will get better fits for kids and teachers and it's a good theory, but it's hard to explain to kindergarteners why they don't get to bring their school supplies until Monday and this is the teacher and room they will be in for the first 3 days but then next week they'll be with their actual teacher and their actual classmates. And Monday we'll have to drop her off at school again with all her supplies and meet her teacher, etc. So, it's kind of not a good idea either. We'll see - if Emmy ends up with a good fit for a teacher then it will have been worth it!

Then I took Bria to her room and she said I couldn't take any pictures. I still got a couple though. Oh my goodness - it was definitely 3rd grade! We had to wait for the bell to ring before everyone could go in and everyone had come early so there were little clumps of girls and clumps of boys scattered around everywhere - girls pointing at boys and boys counting at girls and a mortified daughter of mine because I actually commented on a conversation she was having with her friend, Lauren. Ok... we've hit the point where it's definitely no longer cool for mom to be around. (even though I was cool enough to be with this weekend when we had our girls' afternoon out shopping trip.....) So, I got Bria dropped off sitting in a clump of desks with 5 of her friends: Lauren, Paige, Taylor, Danika and Camryn. I have a feeling that group probably won't be sitting in the same group for too long - chatty girls! :)

Well, everyone is where they are supposed to be and Bailey is pouting in her kennel right now I think - she never liked it when Bria would go to school and now with both of them gone, she is one sad puppy this morning. she likes to sit with the girls on the steps in the morning while they are getting their shoes, coats, backpacks and soon gloves, mittens and snow pants on. Sometimes she even sits in front of the front door blocking them from opening it. She definitely loves her girls!

I'm sure there will be many tales to tell after school this afternoon. I'll keep busy during the day - it's not like I have an empty house here - I've got 5 daycare kiddos still running around to take care of, and after school it will be Bria, Emmy and 2 more "big" kids here as well.

Bailey and Bria before school. I think Bria will miss Bailey more than she will miss me!

1st day of school, 2009-2010

Jon and his girls

Sweet backpacks - Go Hawkeyes!

Walking to school

Emmy waiting for the day to start in Mrs. Bina's classroom. She's in the green group for kindergarten camp.

More kids waiting for camp to start.

Bria and Lauren

Guinea pigs in Bria's room - she has Mrs. G. (Colette Gierszewski)

The Sisters Grimm

If anyone is looking for a fun read, check out the Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley. Bria and I have read books 1-7 and can't wait for book 8 to come out!

Getting Ready for School

The girls start school next Wednesday and they are both so excited! Bria finds out on Monday who her teacher is and who is in her class. 3rd grade should be an adventure.

Emmy gets to try out something new they are doing this year. The first three days of school are going to be called "Kindergarten Camp". They are going to be pooling all the kindergarten kids together and having them get used to the school and the routine of school as well as evaluating which kids will be the best fit with which teachers. Friday afternoon they will find out who their teacher is going to be and then on Monday I'll walk to school with Emmy again so that we can meet her actual teacher and class and see which classroom she is in. Hopefully this experimental start to kindergarten will be a good idea and will result in good fits between students and teachers. It makes things a bit more complicated with getting settled right into the school routine and Bria will have Emmy and another afterschool kindergarten boy to be picking up at the end of the day so we'll have to figure out his temporary spot as well as his permanent spot. Hopefully it's a good idea! We'll see.....

Thankfully both of the girls are excited for school to start. I'm excited for them too, but I'll be honest - I'm going to miss having my girls around all day long. Bailey and I will have to adjust to life with our girls gone most of the day and I'm not looking forward to that part. It's not like I'll be bored with a quiet house though - I'll have 6 kiddos here to keep busy with all day!
Anyway.... we're going to enjoy our last week of summer vacation and work on getting to be a bit earlier and getting up just a bit earlier. Next week both girls start soccer and Bria starts piano lessons too. Awana starts up in September and I'm sure we'll find that we are keeping very busy!

It's Friday Here Too

Most people love it when Friday rolls around.... we are no different. We always enjoy the change of pace the weekend brings. Friday for daycare kids is usually the most challenging day of the week as they are looking forward to the weekend too and just ready to be back with mom and dad for a couple of days. Thankfully, for most of the crew today, it's been a happy Friday.

And even though our week was shorter than usual, it has been a big week around here. Jadyn, Reed and Sophie all started back this week. It has been good to have some familiar faces back and the kids have enjoyed getting re-acquainted. We also had fun playing outside in the mornings before it got too hot, doing some tie-dye projects and playing in the sprinkler. Thanks to all the parents and the kids for making this first week back for everyone go so smoothly! I'm excited to get back into our Fall routine with school starting in a couple of weeks and settling back into that schedule.

VBS Program - Grace Baptist Church 2009

Here are a couple videos of Bria and Emmy singing their songs during the VBS program.

We are Having Fun!

Just a few photos from our weekend..... it's been a blast to have everyone here!

Saving a Chickadee

The birds we love to feed around here sometimes have a bad habit of trapping themselves inside the different feeders. Either the squirrels open up the tops to trap the birds on purpose or the birds are just silly enough to somehow get inside... I don't know. But we did get to rescue a tiny chickadee yesterday. Bria was official photographer while I got our feathered friend safely released.

Blanket Obsession

We are a bit obsessed with blankets around here. One look around our house will show you that. This summer if the girls are enjoying some down time watching tv or reading books - they're wrapped up in a blanket. Yes - this is North Dakota! I'm sure anyone reading this who lives anywhere that's actually been hot this summer thinks talking about blankets in August is insane. Maybe a bit insane, but we're still blanket obsessed! Everyone in our family is getting homemade blankets for their birthdays this year too (for the 3 of you left this should not be a surprise - if I ruined the surprise for you I'm sorry!) This weekend I was able to get the kids' blankets made for them - and we can't wait to give the boys theirs next weekend! It's been fun to match the material to the person and to make a blanket that suits each person. Even Jon, Trever and Greg have loved the blankets.... I'm telling you - we're a family obsessed!

I did let Bria and Emmy pick out what they wanted for their blankets and what they picked just was perfect for them. Bria picked out a tie-dye purple for the back side and the front side is pink with purple, pink and maroon colored unicorns on it - it's just perfect for her. And Emmy found the perfect thing for her - the back side is white and covered with black paw prints: the front is a hodgepodge of hundreds of puppies - puppies everywhere! We found a camoflauge print for Tre and Tru's blanket is a John Deere print with the words "I Make Dirt Look Good". So very fun!!!

So these blankets are added to the collection - the "first blankie" both girls still keep on their beds, the blankets made by grandmas and a couple given as gifts for different things. Blankets are just so fun and special and I like knowing they are wrapped up in love.

Tre's camoflauge and Tru's John Deere Emmy's puppies Emmy's puppy blanket Bria's unicorn blanket Even Bailey is obsessed - she claims every blanket that ends up on the ground. She bundles it up under the front part of her to make a little pillow and just claims it!

My Girls

I really really love my girls!

They are just so amazing. So, if you don't want to listen to me ramble on about what I love about my girls, sign off now, because I plan to ramble!

My Miss Bria. What can I say? She turns 9 next month - 9!!!!! And she is amazing. She's super smart and curious and loves to learn and know things and be involved and have input into everything. She's also very sweet and caring and tends to be able to read people quite accurately. She's also very good at piano, loves to read everything and enjoys being creative. She loves to draw and doodle and sketch as well as work on projects and painting. She's becoming more and more responsible and she is such a good big sister. She loves to torment Emmy, but is always on her side and looking out for her as well. Bria is a consistently bright light to our family!

Emmy- how can she be turning 6 this Fall and starting Kindergarten. Yikes? My baby is not a baby anymore - she's growing into quite the little lady. Mabye not with the manners of a lady, but that's ok. :) She's crazy imaginative and artistic and loves to be included in everything that is going on the house. She especially likes to help out in the kitchen with cooking, preparing for dinner or helping me get activities ready. She LOVES music and books and using her imagination. She also has started working on her life plans - she plans to do a bit of everything - do one thing until she's bored of it and then move on to another. Here are some of her future careers: builder, house painter, cook, magician, owner of McEmmy's, and so many others I can't even remember right now. Emmy brings joy to our family!

I just really really really love my girls!