first grade

I imagine that I will feel this way every single year, but I really can't believe that our little girl is already starting First Grade!  I am really sad for the summer to be over and to miss seeing my girl for nearly 8 hours a day.  That's a really long time, and I know I will miss her something fierce. 

But she is excited, so that brought a little excitement to my heart :)  We went to Meet-the-Teacher on the Monday before school started, and Brooke and I were both anxious to get to know her teacher, Mrs. Farwell.  Kevin didn't get to come with us because work has ben crazy, so I made sure to take lots of pictures to share with him that evening. 

As we walked down the school halls, we noticed several new wall paintings.  I LOVED this quote and have talked to Brooke a lot about always being kind to others. She really is good at this, but I want to always focus on these great traits.  "Be the kid who can get along, be the kid who is generous, be the kid who is happy for other people, be the kid who does the right thing, be the nice kid."  Such a powerful message! 

We made our way through the school to the first grade hall. and I loved watching Brooke take it all in.

Mrs. Farwell was at the door to greet us and she seemed really sweet!  Brooke was shy, but still polite :)  We wandered the room until we found her desk and instructions about where to put all of her school supplies.  As I filled out the welcome paperwork, Brooke and Colby sorted the supplies into bins at the front of the room.  (I find it kind of annoying that the supplies I bought for Brooke went into some community bucket, but hopefully she'll have what she needs throughout the year!)

There's something fun about school supplies all set out, right?

I took a few more pictures to remember this night (and to show to Daddy), and we were on our way.

Mrs. Farwell has been teaching for 28 years, which gives me a lot of peace knowing that she knows what she's doing :)  She's been teaching First Grade at Daulton since it opened 14 years ago! I have a feeling that Brooke is going to have a great year in school, and I'm excited to see her learn and grow. 

As we headed back to the front of the school, we saw the Daulton Drgaon.  Brooke was not even a little bit interested in taking a picture with him, but Colby was sure excited about it. Thumbs up for Daulton :)

Brooke WAS interested in taking her picture by this cool wall of mirrors.  They have done such a great job with decorating the walls of the school and I am grateful for the inspirational messages they provide for the students.

And just like that, Brooke is officially ready for her first day of school!  She seems so grown up to me, and I'm grateful that this visit to the school seemed to boost her confidence about a new teacher and new classmates. She is going to do great things, I already know it :)

That night, I tried to make a special dinner (I can't remember what it was, though!), and then Brooke received a special Father's Blessing from Kevin.  It was a beautiful experience, and both her and Colby were so reverent because they KNEW this was a special moment for them.  Although Colby isn't starting school, he wanted a blessing as well.  I peeked during the blessing and my heart could have melted as Colby sat there cross-legged on the chair with his eyes pinched closed and his little arms folded. They both gave Kevin huge hugs at the end of the blessing, and when I asked Brooke about her blessing that night, she made a comment about feeling special that Daddy could give her a blessing.

School didn't start until Wednesday, but we opted to do blessings after the Meet the Teacher to just stay on the school vibe. The next night, we carefully laid out Brooke's new outfit and prepped her lunchbox with a few of the nonperishable items. Waking up early was the only thing I was concerned about, but the morning went off without a hitch!

She looked adorable in those overalls and she knew it, haha!

As I walked her down the hall that morning, I felt myself getting emotional at the most random times.  Like when I saw the Daulton Dragon, haha.  I hugged and kissed her goodbye, and was anxious to see her again that afternoon.  The pick-up process is a little different for first graders, which I don't love, but we will adjust to it.  We still turn in our individual student's sign at the First/Second grade door, but instead of sending kids out one at a time, they just let them all walk out at once.  It's a little chaotic since Brooke couldn't see me amongst the mass of parents, but we've since picked a meeting spot at a tree near the door.

Brooke had nothing but positive things to say about her first day, and when family members called to ask about her day, she repeated the same favorites: recess and being able to sit wherever you want during lunch.  Haha, that's the important stuff, right?

Day Two was nothing but smiles...

As I walked her in, she proudly pointed to the bus puzzle she had completed the day before.  They have a new rule that I can only walk her to the classroom the first two weeks of school, so I plan on taking full advantage of my limited time walking her in!

After drop-off, Colby and I met up with Danielle (and Cam) and Joanna (and Brock and Marlie) for a "Boo-hoo" breakfast.  Danielle's son, Bradnt, started Kindergarten, which is such an emotional step!  Luckily, we have each other to lean on!

Then it was off to run errands with my buddy! I really worried about how he would adjust to Sissy being at school all day, but he has done better than expected.  He does request more shows in the morning because he does't have Sis to play with, so I'll need to break him of that habit.

Errands are WAY more fun when they have little rides along the way, haha.  Although, I warned him that we weren't going to actually ride any of them.

The hardest part of getting back to the school routine was the early mornings for this kid...

I hate waking him up every morning because he gets cranky by mid-afternoon.  I have even considered going back to nap time, but I know that night time would then be super difficult again. So, I will just hope that we all get used to this new schedule and moods will improve :) (The above picture was one of our best afternoons, so it had to be documented!)

Brooke is loving school and her mood is great each afternoon when we see her after school! She was proud to report that she filled her whole punch car (a classroom positive reinforcement tool) and chose the "Bring a Stuffy" option as her reward. (Other options include: "Treasure Box" and "Lunch with a Friend".)

She carefully placed her bunny, Snowball, in her backpack and was ready to head into school.  I had to take a picture to document how cute the whole thing was :)

It is such a relief to see your child adapt so beautifully and find happiness in something they do every single day!  I feel truly lucky that it's been a smooth transition back to school, and that Kevin is waking her up again this year and helping her get dressed and down the stairs while I do lunches.  Parent Team Work at its finest :)

beach date

I feel like the last few posts are all about the final days of summer, but I really felt the pressure of trying to cram in fun stuff before Brookie went back to school and we had to get into some sort of "routine".  Since one of our favorite places is the beach area at Lynn Creek Park, we made that a priority.  We went on our ward lake day as well, so the kids had plenty of friends to play with. It's always nice when they can entertain themselves and I can chat with the other moms, haha.

After a few hours, it was just us and the Hibberts left.  Their four boys were playing so well with Brooke and Colby and they began working on a large water hole together.  It was cute seeing them work together, and both agreed that their favorite part of the day was working together on that hole.  The simple joys of working together on a common goal, right?

Colby and I will enjoy a few more lake days while Brooke is at school, but those too will be done at the end of September when the park closes for the season!

house of the lord

As our summer break was winding down, the kids and I decided to make a trip to North Dallas to visit a place called Pet Land.  My friend Kiley had told me about it, and we had a great time there :)  When I looked up the directions on my phone, I quickly realized that we were going to literally be down the street from the Dallas Temple.  So, after Pet Land, we grabbed some lunch at In-N-Out and headed to the temple for a picnic. It was hot (per the usual in Texas), but bearable in the shade of the big trees.  We had a lovely picnic, then walked the grounds of the whole temple. 

Unfortunately, since it was Monday, the temple was closed and I couldn't even take the kids inside to see the foyer of the temple.  In the past, this has been a cool experience to just feel the reverence inside those special walls, but we'll just have to visit again soon. I don't think we've been since Colby was a baby!

Brooke loved the beautiful flowers and was excited to be able to touch the water in the cascading fountain. 

Colby took a seat on those temple stairs and I quickly took a pic.  I love his facial expression, and know that i'll cherish these pictures for years to come. I tried to explain to them about how important these temples are and how lucky we are that we live close to one!

Because of the sealing ordinance in the temple, Kevin and I are forever blessed to have these sweet kids with us for eternity!

Oh, and I can't forget these adorable pics I took at In-N-Out.  Colby REALLY wanted to wear his Mickey shirt to Pet land, so I allowed it, but made him change before we took pictures at the temple.  That might have been a little silly, but I didn't want the distraction of a bold shirt when the spotlight should be on the temple.

But man, he's a cutie! With a whole lot of personality :)

one last date

We had our last cousin date at Hawaiian Falls, and although I didn't take many pictures, they still remind me of a wonderful time had by all :) The highlights for the kids were probably the Dippin' Dots and the long time we stayed and played in the wave pool. 

Sure love these little cuties!!

sunday love

This little Sunday photo op was motivated by Brookie's cute hairstyle. The day before, she and I had been playing strawberry shortcake dolls up in her room. Several of her girls had the most amazing hairsyles, all thanks to Dani Taggart the last time she babysat. When I told Brooke that I could definitely do one of the styles on HER hair for church the next day, she was ecstatic.

I loved how it turned out, and it was so fun to see her excited about something I created for her. Brooke has since asked me (multiple times) if we can have a "playdate" with Dani so she can teach me how to do those adorable milkmaid braids on one of the other strawberry shortcake dolls, haha.  The best part, is that Dani would totally do it because she's a sweetheart!

I love these littles more than words can express!  I especially love that Colby ASKED to be in this picture, and that he wanted to wear matching ties with Daddy.  But only in the morning and on the drive to church, haha, he most definitely left it in the car as soon as we arrived at the church parking lot.

our happy place

I have at least a hundred pictures of our boating adventures this summer, but here are a few from one particular Saturday.  We started the day with a longer-than-usual boat ride, followed by a little exploration of a sandy beach.  The lake was only about 3 feet deep in this area, so Kevin hopped off the back of the boat and helped the littles cross over with him.  They were both freaking out about the squishy mud, so Kevin helped them cross over quickly. Within moments, the rock and stick collecting had already begun.  You've gotta love kids and their treasure hunting, haha.

I stayed on the boat, but tried to get their attention for a picture before they made their way back.  As they crawled into the boat, their feet were covered in that sludgy mud, so I don't think this was an ideal "beach" to stop at in the future.  But it was worth the exploration! 

Then it was back to cruising the lake...

I adore this picture so much!  I obviously love my sweet boy's face and personality with those glasses, but I also love that Papa's head is in the background :)  I imagine that my kids will always remember the presence of their grandparents when thinking about childhood boating!

And they will most definitely remember all the times they played with their Daddy.  This summer has been pretty incredible as far as new experiences and confidence gained.  Brooke has really impressed me with her desire to learn to wakeboard, and Colby just wants to do EVERYTHING!

Colby kept asking Kevin to do a spin, and Kevin was able to make the full 360 rotation!  As Kevin and I were watching all the videos that night, he told me about his total Dad moment with Colby.  While they were riding, Colby yelled, "Hey Dad!", then waited for Kevin to acknowledge that he heard him, before saying "I love you."  I can only imagine the happiness he felt in that moment with his son.  The little boy who looks up to him so much and wants to do everything his Daddy does. 

As we were cleaning the boat, Brooke put on Kevin's captain hat and I couldn't NOT take a pictures!  Her and Colby love this hat, so I may have to order little ones for them to wear at the lake, our happy place!

sibling bond

This summer has been a breakthrough of sorts! The kids have played together in the past, but this summer they would play for hours together, which was amazing on so many levels.  They were SO creative in their play, and I loved listening to them plan, plot, and execute all of their play ideas.  It led to MANY messes, but I loved seeing them together and listening to their conversations.  It also gave me uninterrupted time to get things done, so it was a win for everyone :)

At the beginning of August, it really hit me how much we will miss Brooke when she started first grade.  Colby will lose his best play buddy, and I know I am not nearly as fun or creative in my play as she is.  I will have to either up my game of imaginative play, or schedule more friend play dates, haha.

But these two have grown so much this summer and I love the special bond they share together.  My goal is to allow them to have lots of play time in the afternoons and early evenings before we have to do dinner, baths, and the bedtime routine.