back to school 2013

another school year is upon us. my olivia is in 4th grade now. my rachel started kindergarten.

 

time flies...

day before school started. Olivia said "I'm smiling because today, I have freedom"

 

I said "Rachey, tomorrow you start kindergarten!" & this is the face she made.

 

 

first day of school

 

walking into school.

 

day #2 = first bus ride. the bus comes at 6:50 am. that's before 7:00. It's exhausting. But as the time is progressing, it's coming closer to 7:00 each day. If I could get like 7:05, I would be happy.

 

Rachel was so excited to ride the bus.

 

Olivia, not so much. She said "you took my picture yesterday".

 

and Friday on the 1st week of school. They are smiling because the week is just about over.

 

The 2nd week of school was SWELTERING!!! Olivia's school doesn't have air conditioning. And temps were in the 90's close to 100 a couple days. They got out at 1:15 all week. This week starts regular hours - til 3:15. And I believe this is wearing my Rachey girl out. She slept on the way home last night when I picked her up.

 

Only 161 more days of school.

how???

school starts on august 19th. olivia will go into 4th grade. rachel will start kindergarten. and i'm a mess. i will repeat, i'm a mess. crying here & now. last night to jarrett. and this morning to jarrett. it's all gone so fast.

liv 2 years old

 

rachey 2 years old

 

today i scheduled all of the necessary appointments for rachel to be ready to begin her career as a student, and it is becoming quite real. this is really happening. my baby is starting kindergarten. after all, she isn't a baby really. she will be 6 years old in october. but she is my baby.

rachey 9 months old

i've been slowly preparing rachel for kindergarten. she says the teacher will know she's a new kid in school because she's never been there before. and she loved when i told her all of the kids in kindergarten are going to be new kids. kindergarten is everyone's very first year of school.

olivia 3 years old



rachel 3 years old

we've talked about the bus. rachel is excited. olivia isn't. plain & simple, this mama can't drop both kids off at school and get to work on time. the bus is the solution. maybe it won't be forever. but it will be for now.

liv 2 years old

rachel 3 years old



liv 4 & rachel 18 months

i also printed the school supply lists. and completed olivia's registration for 4th grade online.

4th grade. i distinctly remember things that happened during 4th grade. olivia is not excited at the thought of the school year starting in less than a month. then again, i'm not exactly thrilled either. it will definitely lessen the ol daycare bill each week though.

liv 4 years old

rachel 18 months

i can handle 4th grade. after all, i've already lived through baby to kindergarten with her. and we both survived - albeit a few tears were shed by both of us.

olivia 9 months old

olivia 1st day of kindergarten

i've had the joy of watching these 2 beautiful girls grow. i've been there every day. so can someone please tell me how it happened so fast. and someone tell me how it can hurt so much but bring me so much joy at the same time.

i better prepare myself for this happening in 7 short years...

Liv's Birthday Party

Olivia's 9th birthday sure was a big hit.

 

Let's all just take minute to look at how beautiful my girl is. Seriously, gorgeous right?

 

 

The birthday festivities started Thursday afternoon. I picked her up from camp early & we played minigolf at State Farm park - big perk for working.

 

 

 

Friday was a Mama & Liv day. We did lunch at Red Lobster. I told them it was her birthday while she was using the restroom. They sang to her. Her face got super red & she couldn't stop smiling.

 

Then we went to the mall & had a great time.

 

 

 

 

Saturday was her party day. It rained. So the swimming didn't actually take place until after the majority of the guests left.

 

Olivia Grace, I hope you had as much fun celebrating your birthday as I did.

Happy 9th Birthday Olivia

Every single year I say the same thing, how is this possible?!

Olivia, today you are 9 years old. I can't even wrap my head around that. This is your last year in the single digits. I hope you understand how much of a big deal that is to me. Nine. What an awesome age! I hope your 9th year is just as awesome as you are. I remember being 9, and how much fun it was.

LouLou, I hope you realize I will continue to call you LouLou. You turning 9 is a wonderful thing to celebrate! 9 years of having you. 9 years with the most precious gift from God. 9 years of your smiles. 9 years of your laugh. 9 years of your sweet and loving hugs. 9 years of your sass & eyerolling. As you can see, I take the good with the not so good.

Olivia, 9 years ago today my dreams came true. The very first time I held you in my arms, I knew there was nothing better I was going to do with my entire life than that moment. Being a mother is all I have ever wanted to be, and you made that happen for me. Thank you.

For your 9th birthday, I hope you enjoy the day with me. I have special things planned for the 2 of us.

9 Wishes for You on Your 9th Birthday!

1. I wish you enjoy this summer! I hope you enjoy your summer camp. I hope you stay up late. I hope you have a campout. I hope you remember the summer your turned 9 for all of the fun times.
2. I wish you won't be afraid to laugh really really loud at things you think are funny. My loud laugh embarrasses you, or so you have told me. But don't be afraid to laugh.
3. I wish you would realize the rules your Dad & I have set for you are only to make you better. We want you to continue to grow from an awesome child to an awesome adult. Although you don't dig our rules now, you will thank us at some point.  
4. I wish you will continue to love reading. Seeing you read books or read on your Kindle is one of my very favorite things, ever. I love when you tell me about the books you are reading with such excitement.
5. I wish you see how beautiful you are inside and out. True beauty isn't about clothes, hair, etc...it's about the person you are. And you, my LouLou girl, are beautiful.
6. I wish you learn to not take yourself too seriously. Have fun. Be silly. Be 9. Be a kid.
7. I wish you would not try to grow up too fast. Take your time. Enjoy being 9. You like to say "when I'm a teenager..." that's fine. But don't wish your time as a 9 year old away.
8. I wish you would love your hair. Or I wish you would let me brush you hair. You have gorgeous long thick hair. There are about 100 different ways I would do my hair if I had the hair you have. Enjoy it. Wear flowery headbands. Wear it in 10 different ponytails.
9. I wish you will always remember, no matter what, you are loved. You make every single day worth living.

Happy 9th Birthday, Olivia Grace! I love you!

~Mama

Dancing Girls

last dance post of the season, i promise.

 

the recital went off without a hitch! it was fabulous. i was worried about rachel, it was a long time to be back stage & not have her mama with her, but she did great. we got to the civic center at 1:00, i dropped the girls off back-stage then. the recital started at 2:00.

 

both of olivia's dances were before intermission. rachel's was after, so rachel had to sit and wait over an hour after the recital started. so she was back there just hanging out from 1 - 3:15.

 

olivia did AH-MAZING! i'm continuously impressed with olivia. she did well during the dress rehearsal - these pics are from the rehearsal.but she did even better during the recital.

 

maybe my new favorite picture of her ever

 

rachel did soooo good! out of the 5 girls, i can safely say she did the best. she was the only one truly doing the routine. her favorite part was the end when they got to blow kisses to the crowd.

 

my sweet dancing girls, i am so proud of you both! congratulations!

 

my girls dancing & random updates

this is a reminder for me...

these girls that fight with each other, tattle on each other, and bicker with each other,

 

sometimes, something like this happens...

 

i have a sister. i know what it is like to compare yourself to your sister. you know, the whole "she gets to do this..." type of thing. well, i'm sure those days won't stop anytime soon.

 

but i need to remember, there are days like this too. absolute joy when i see my two girls playing nicely together.

 

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Olivia - today is her first day of State Farm Day Camp. She will go each Thursday in June. She went last year, and I have to admit she wasn't exactly thrilled that I signed her up again. But today taking her to the park, she got excited. Hopefully, she has a great day.

 

Rachel - she moved to the "school-age" room at daycare Monday. And boy, is she excited about it. She kept saying "I'm a school-ager now, I'm a school-ager now."

 

With Rachel's move to the "school-age" room at the center, that means both girls are in the same room. Rachel digs this. Olivia not so much. I think Liv is worried that Rachey may cramp her style. Oh well, she will get over it.

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I have tomorrow off work. I'm soooooooo excited to have a day off. I just had Monday off for Memorial Day, but so did everyone else. So this is better.

 

Plans for tomorrow - none really. I want to work on the house a little - clutter, kitchen, etc...

 

I also want to paint the shelf in my bathroom so it matches my new shower curtain.

Who would have thought that $8 for a new shower curtain would make such a big difference?! It's seriously so much brighter, and the whole room looks bigger. Plus it's chevron, duh! And it's from the dollar store.

 

I finally got around to planting some flowers. If you know me, and I'm guessing you do...this is my first ever landscaping type of thing. I planted some tulip bulbs a few years ago, but I seriously lake a green-thumb.

 

 

Tomorrow is dress rehearsal & pictures for the dance recital. Exciting times, my friends!

 

Jarrett is hoping to FINALLY get his corn planted. He traded in his seed corn for a shorter season corn. What with it being June & all. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for NO MORE RAIN for the next few days. This needs to happen, people. Really. Otherwise it is going to be pointless for him to plant. We will just have to make a claim on our crop insurance. Please no more rain for the next few days...