Back To School

It's 1:15 in the afternoon and the house is silent.  And clean.  

I'm loving it and my heart is breaking a little bit at the same time.  

It's back to school day.

Adam has been ready for kindergarten for about 8 months now.  He was the first one up this morning, dressed and happy and ready to go.  He kept up his energy and smiles all the way to school and only wavered for a split second when he sat down at his chair, picked up his super-sharp pencil and began writing his name, the realized that it was really happening.  That's when I made my hasty exit, because Adam always has a hard time with good-byes.

Adam gets to sit right next to his friend, our neighbor, Solon.  He can read and write and do math like a whiz, and I know he's ready to learn new things and have a great time in kindergarten.  His teacher Mrs. Johnson is cheerful and confident and loving.  Adam gave her a hug the first time they met.

Yesterday he told me he wanted to do all of the funnest things he could think of so the day would go by quicker and kindergarten would finally be here.  Then we sat down and played Monopoly Junior, the game that we played during naptime all spring long.  It made him happy, but it melted my heart.  Our last game during naptime.

It's a huge milestone, but it's just one day.  As long as I don't think about the rest of his life and the fact that he's never going to be home to play Monopoly Junior during naptime or Legos in his jammies on a Tuesday or to build a fort with the babies after lunch again, I'm doing just fine.

He's ready.  And I'm so happy for him, and so excited for all of the fun that he gets to have at school, surrounded by great, loving teachers and fun friends and awesome activities and new knowledge.

But I'm also so sad for me.  He's gone!  I even bought myself an extra year by keeping him home with me until he turned six, but I still somehow never thought this day would get here so fast.  And yet, here it is, everything changing again and never able to go back to the way it was because time just keeps ticking.

But he'll be home soon.  And the Oreos he requested are stacked up and the Legos are waiting and so am I.  Because he's still my little buddy, and he always will be.

*****

Leah went back to school today, too.  Third grade!  When Leah came down the stairs this morning with her long legs and styled hair and fancy outfit I thought she looked like she was heading off to college.  How grateful I am that we are still a few years off from that!

She just keeps growing and growing and growing.  Maybe she'll be as tall as her teacher Mrs. Keese by the end of this year!

Leah was much more nervous about starting school than Adam- she knows exactly what lies ahead in these 180 days of the school year.  She spends more time remembering the parts she doesn't like (the math, the noisy crowds of crazy kids, the long days of being "on") and tends to forget about how awesome school can be (the reading and writing and art and music and chance to play with friends!) so there were many tears shed last night.  But her teacher has the fanciest class in 3rd grade (again!) and she welcomed Leah with a hug and a smile this morning, and off she went.

We have honored all of our back-to-school traditions- our back-to-school family night was all about our theme- "Believe!" As we're all heading back into school, believe in yourself, in others, in your teachers, in trying new things, in working hard, in happiness, in the power of prayer, and in God's promises!  Believe that good things will come this year.   

We each wrote something we believe will happen this year and tied it to a balloon.  I thought we could take them outside and release them up into the sky, but the kids thought that was a horrible idea!  So we kept them in the house instead.  They serve as great reminders to believe that it will be a great year.

We also had father's blessings, a back-to-school breakfast feast and family pictures waiting to be tucked into backpacks and taped onto notebooks.  After more prayers and preparations, we were ready for the day that we've all been anticipating- and dreading.

Emma, Noah and I have had a great morning together- we went to two back-to-school parties and colored with fresh new crayons before heading into naptime.  A strange part of me has been launched back to early 2011- the last time I had just a four year old girl and a two year old boy to keep me company all day long.  It's sweet, and I'm glad for the focused time that I'll get with my littles again.

So here we go!  We'll find our new rhythms and routines and have lots of laughter and tears and lost glasses (already!) and find new friends, and make lots of memories through this new school year!

Postscript- School was a hit!  Leah walked out of the building and told my she had a happy day as if I had no reason to believe she ever would have had anything but a great day.  Adam loved his three recesses and has his eye on the "red ticket" prizes his teacher hands out.  The conversation overheard between Leah and Emma after school was priceless.  They sat together on the deck and colored with the new crayons and talked about how much they missed each other during the day.  And Adam climbed on my lap and told me all about kindergarten and gave me 14 huge hugs and 8 sloppy kisses before he ran outside to play with his friends.  It was a good day.

Saying Good-bye to Summer

This was the longest summer we will ever have.  The kids got an extra two weeks of summer vacation because the school start date was pushed back for this new school year.  Next summer they'll get out in June, instead of May like we did this year.  And somehow, we have really felt that extra two weeks of summer.  Once we got back from our trip it was too cold to go to the pool, the activity that took up most of our hot summer days.  

The kids started bugging each other just a bit more than they usually do (which is not at all) and the there were even days when it seemed the friends in the neighborhood were ringing the doorbell just a bit too often.  (Not these pictured friends, who were all members of the Airjitzu club and could play together all day long.)

I never heard "I'm bored" but the feeling was obvious- our efforts were exhausted and summer had been a success.   For what as supposed to be a low-key summer, we had an awful lot of fun in Kansas City, Omaha, Indianapolis, Chicago, Des Moines and right here in our very own yard.  We swam and ate roasted marshmallows and made bird feeders and tried to catch fireflies.  We had long, lazy days in pajamas when we watched way too much tv, and more playdates and the park than we could count.  We caught bunnies and walked the neighbors dogs and rediscovered old toys in the basement.  We did a bit of back-to-school shopping and went to the movies and had ice cream treats as often as we possibly could.  It was a wonderful summer, and if it weren't for the crisp chill in the morning air and the call of the school bell, we'd be happy to hold onto summer forever!

The Beach

The last must-do on our trip was a day at the beach.  And it was one of the best memories we made on our trip.

There is something magical about digging in the sand and splashing in the waves.

Making mermaids and burying each other.

 Watching the vastness of the water as the waves roll in and out and in and out.

Sitting together and playing and talking.

 And laughing and piling up and smashing down the sand. 

 And smiling and loving and remembering that it's a treat to be together.

 Updating our sandy family heart. 

 Then piling back in the car and heading home again, hot and tired and sandy, and glad for the time we took and the memories we made.

Chicago

How many times have we been to Chicago?  It seems like we're there all the time, but really we haven't been to Chicago since we had just two kids.  Our last trip there was sometime before Emma was born in 2011.  But Chicago is Chicago, and there are certain things that must be done while in Chicago to truly enjoy.  We easily could have stayed there a week (we didn't visit any of the amazing museums and just barely sampled the cuisine), but here are the highlights we hit in the one day we had.

Stop 1- Buckingham Fountain

Stop 2- The Bean

This bag of candy made me laugh- everyone in our family loves M&Ms except for Adam.  The look on his face when he reached in to grab a handful of cookies and cream drops and got M&Ms instead was priceless.  What a mean trick!  The drops were underneath.

Stop 3- Crown Fountain to cool off, unless you're already cold, like Miss Emma.

Stop 4- Giordano's for some deep dish pizza, then across the Chicago River by way of the gorgeous DuSable Bridge.

Stop 5- A ride down the Chicago River by way of a water taxi.  The best way to travel in Chicago.  Be sure to wave at other boats as they pass.

Stop 6- Navy Pier!  First walk all the way to the tip of the pier to get a great view of Lake Michigan, 

and a great view of the skyline.

Be sure to climb on the giant anchor and feed the screeching seagulls (Noah called them duckies and I didn't correct him until I heard him say see-gull! in just as cute a voice).

Then turn back around and head to the ferris wheel.

The most highly anticipated ride of the summer, and everyone loved it!

Move on to take the most quintessential summer picture ever- Jason and Adam are on the right.

  

Ride the Navy Pier trolley around the Magnificent Mile- twice!- 

before hopping off and heading back over the bridge. 

Stop 7- Garrett's Popcorn, of course!  Then back to the Bean at night and finally back to the car.

 Don't forget to buy a paper box from a homeless man along the way.  This was the only thing the kids asked for as a souvenir (they had no idea he was anything but a kind man with an awesome sidewalk shop, and Leah was especially thrilled to turn hers into a table for Elfie Crystal Shimmer, her fairy).

There wasn't one single peep of complaint throughout the long, busy, fun day.   But when we got to the hotel and discovered that our keys weren't working, the kids didn't skip a beat with their beauty rest.  Everyone was pooped.

Not pictured- the huge and ugly fight that Jason and I had before stop 1 and didn't resolve until after Stop 4.  It was proof that we just can't stretch ourselves too thin, and this trip (and the week leading up to it) we were stretched too thin.  It was also a great chance (!) to talk to the kids about fighting and making up and forgiving each other over and over again because that's what families do when we love each other.  A lesson everyone should learn, just not necessarily in the middle of downtown Chicago.  But still, it was an awesome day, and Chicago continues to hold this little country family's heart in a big way.

Last Summer Trip

Our final excursion this summer took us east!  While I was home throwing Emma's birthday party and packing everyone up for the trip, Jason was already Indy on business.  I have never attempted driving the kids so far by myself before, but we made it!  

We broke the six hour trip into three little ones- and our first stop was the John Deere Pavillion.  The kids loved climbing on the huge equipment, and I loved being out of the car.  It was not easy being the only adult driving, navigating, answering requests, solving problems and providing entertainment and food.

The second stop was the Albanese Gummy Bear factory!  We loaded up on our favorites then headed on to home- I knew we were close to West Lafayette when I saw the hundreds of wind turbines that dot the fields.

We drove by our old house, which surely looked a bit more run down and neglected than it did when we lived there, 

and were lucky enough to see our sweet neighbors that still live there.  Ma-maw and Pa-paw were our Indiana grandparents, and Alivia was one of Leah's best friends!  They picked up right where they left off two years ago. 

We spent our first night at the Bailey's house, where we spent the happiest 14 hours visiting and playing with our sweet friends- and their chickens!

Emma was not thrilled about being the model to pose next to them, but the kids all had a wonderful time running around the yard and eating loads of gummy bears and playing with the kitty.

  Rachael and I always have the best conversations, and I learned this time around that we should not start out a family trip by staying up until the wee hours of the morning catching up with sweet friends.  That was a hard thing to overcome, but boy was it worth it!  And the kids were thrilled to have one of their "special occasions" only sleepovers!

Then we were off to Indianapolis to attend the temple open house- the whole reason we took this trip!

  The temple was announced while we lived in Indiana, and we promised ourselves that we would come back to see it completed and to take our kids through.  The temples are open to anyone that wants to tour them until they are dedicated, then members of the church in good standing may attend. 

And I'm so glad we made the effort to attend!  The temple is absolutely exquisite inside, and the Spirit was so strong as we walked through the sacred building and thought about and talked about the importance of our relationship with God and with each other.  Because of the temple we know that our family will be together forever!  The sweetest moment was when we were standing in the celestial room and looking at our family through the two mirrors whose reflections seem to go on and on forever.  We whispered to the kids about how happy we are that our family will be together forever and did a quiet, one-fingered "family power" and hugged each other happily.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at our favorite place in Indianapolis- the children's museum!  

(I asked Noah who was in this picture.  He said, "Bum-bo-bee!!!"  No idea how he knows who that is.) 

We got there later than we had anticipated, so we had to zip through each of the exhibits faster than we would have preferred.  But it was all still an absolute delight.  I have so many happy memories in the museum, and it was so fun to be there together again.

The underwater sea diving, the fireworks of glass, the Hot Wheels, and the carousel.  The dinosaur exhibit, the science exhibit, the new China exhibit, and the new baby playscape.  It was all so fun.

We even did something I don't recall ever doing at the children's museum before- we bought treats!  It was amazing to realize that we spent more in this one trip ($100 for the five paying members of our family, plus a few treats) than we spent in all of the trips we took combined in the entire time we lived in Indiana (when it cost us just $1 per person, and we always packed in our own food).  This museum was such a blessing in our graduate family life!

 Leah loves to read through old blog posts, and wanted to recreate this picture of three-year-old self from 2010.  Look at that pouty little lip! 

She is growing up way too fast. 

It delighted me to see that Noah reacted to the super reflective floor just as my other kids did- 

he was afraid to walk on it!  

When we had had our fill of the museum and it started getting too crowded (it turned out to be Free Family Night, which drew more visitors than we were willing to share the museum with) we headed on to dinner- with the Mullens!

Sarah is one of the most amazing ladies I've ever met.  She nearly helped Jason deliver Miss Emma as she made her super speedy entrance into the world (but stayed home to take care of sleeping Adam and Leah instead).  Jason and her husband Nathan served their missions in La Paz, Bolivia together.  We set up camp in Chick-fil-a and spent way too long catching up while our sweet husbands monitored the kids in the playplace.  It was such a treat to see them again!

Then we hurried over to the hotel, where we all dropped off to sleep in a flash.  We got what felt like a wink of sleep before it was time to wake up and drive three hours to Chicago in the morning.