First Day of School 2009

Hard to believe another school year has begun! This is how our first day of school went--MOnday, August 24th, 2009. It started with a little wake-up call in Anna's room:

"Hmmmmm? Is it really time to wake up already?"

Jared, however, did not need a wake up visit from me...this was my first glimpse of him in the morning as I got breakfast ready--he was up, dressed, and mostly packed up. If only the excitement of the first day of school could carry over into all the other days of school and getting ready would be done so quickly with no nagging!!

Anna emerged from her room wearing the outfit she had laid out the night before...but wait, where is her hairbrush??


Now looking a little more awake...time for breakfast (so far lilly is sleeping through the school day preparations)...

Here she is, finally awake and a bit surprised to see Jared and Anna up and dressed. Big kids are looking ready to go! I spent much time explaining to Lilly that she starts her school in TWO WEEKS (but not today)...

At last, it's time for Jared to head out to catch his bus. He sneaks out the back door, through the back gate to the main road (that way if he misses the bus, he has a chance to catch it on its way back out of our neighborhood...always thinking, eh?)

Bye Jared! Have a great day! I love you!

Bye again Jared! Don't let Tad out!

On our way out the door with Anna and Lilly, I snuck over to the bus stop to catch a glimpse of Jared and his buddies waiting for the Destin Middle School bus. Even though they were really cool and wanted it to seem like it was dorky for me to take a photo, they look pleasantly pleased that I cared enough to do so! Aren't they cute?

And here's the bus...we passed it on foot as we walked up the hill to school.

Next it's time for Anna to head out the door. We stopped first at Katie's house, and Cali was waiting for us in our driveway...

Walking down the hall to the classroom...

Anna and her friend Ciara outside Mrs. Mason's classroom (Jared had her for 4th grade too).

Anna in her classroom, ready to get to work on the items listed on the white board. Bye mom!

So they all made it through Day One! Here is Anna and friends after school!



And now it's already Thursday afternoon, the first week nearly over! They have had a great week, and Lilly has adjusted fairly well to not having them home. I miss them a lot, and I miss the extra people around to play with Lilly and help with things! Next week is the last week Lilly is home every day, so I am hoping she and I can do some fun things together at home and out and about...

We're excited Tom's parents are coming down over Labor Day--anyone else want to come soon? Maybe join us at Disney for Thanksgiving??

Last Week of Summer Vacation!

The house is quiet. Jared and Anna are at school; Lilly is napping; even the dog is out cold somewhere in the house. The computer is humming and I should be cleaning a bathroom or two. But instead, here I sit, uploading some photos so you all can enjoy the back-t0-school moments from this week!

We filled our last week home from school with fun things like a beach day, a day to visit daddy at work and play at the splash pad on base, and just fun stuff at home. Here are some shots from our last week of summer vacation:

Here is Anna getting nice and hot on the swings just before heading over to the splash pad with Lilly:

Here is Lilly with Anna and some of her friends having an impromptu back to school tea party (drank the last of our Turkish Apple Chai--yikes, help!) on a rainy day.


Here are Anna and Lilly enjoying the water park on base. Lilly has gotten so much braver in the water! Even the water splashing her in the face (as below!) doesn't phase her much!

Lilly tried the big kids' swing...she usually swings in my lap, but it makes me seasick quickly...so she gave this a try when mama said I had to stop! She is growing up!

On Wednesday last week, we surprised Tom at work with some brownies on a Wednesday in the middle of a VERY busy work week. He was happy to have us there...I felt bad keeping him from his work, but he kept saying "don't go!" All his coworkers are so sweet and gracious and welcoming to the kids and me...it is easy to hang around there! We decided to keep a stash of playdough in daddy's office so when we visit, Lilly has something to play with.

On Saturday, Tom had to go to work to prepare a briefing for the AF Surgeon General, so the kids and I headed to the beach with some friends for one last before-school beach day (it was a BEAUTIFUL day!) Here, Jared, Anna, and friend Sophie are admiring the 20+ small fish and one hermit crab that they caught in the surf. The water was beautiful and clear and lots of sealife was visible.

Big brother and Lilly hanging together and enjoying some junk food (gotta' live a little, no?)

Lilly couldn't decide which sunglasses matched her hat the best:

And finally, the Sunday night before school started, Tom and the kids did an impromptu swim night after dinner, before final baths and school-night bedtimes!

And so, summer vacation 2009 is a wrap!

PS: Like my new glasses?

What I Did When my Aunt Judi Visited...

Tom's sister Judi spent last Monday through Friday with us here--it was such a treat to have her! The kids and I felt like we were on vacation, as we filled the week with lots of summer fun. The weather was gorgeous for beach days, Big Kahunas water park days, shopping, walking, and playing! We were sad to see her leave on Friday. Here are some photos of these fun days together!








Lilly's nickname in our house is "Monkey DO!" as she feels compelled to copy everything she sees big brother and sister doing (good AND bad!). Here she demanded a hair towel to match Anna's after a bath recently.

Here's Jared after a fun day at Big Kahunas. We went ahead and bought season passes for next summer, so the rest of this summer is free! BONUS! The kids love it, and Lilly even really enjoyed it. For the first time she was able to be independent in a pool, as there were many shallow pools for kids her size. She got brave enough to try some small slides and even put her face in a few times!

She was, however, exhausted, by mid-afternoon and spent about 45 minutes like this...

While Aunt Judi and the big kids did this!

Here we are getting ready for a day of fun at Big Kahunas!

Lilly and Anna shared Lilly's room while Judi was here. Here is Daddy getting the girls all wound up before bedtime (isn't that a daddy's job?) :)

Lilly LOVED playing with Aunt Judi and Judi got to hear Lilly's increasingly fluent Chinglish. While they were playing with her little people, Lilly stated that the family in the minivan was on their way to school. I asked her what they were going to do at school, and her reply ("they are going to go pee pee, but mommy won't be there to help them") reflected a recent conversation she and I had while pottying. I was explaining that when she goes to her preschool this fall (just 2 mornings a week--she is VERY excited!), she will have to pull up her own pants. She said, No, Mom you can help me. I had to explain that when she is at school, Mommy won;t be there to help but the teacher would. She digested that for awhile, and apparently it has sunk in! When I asked her what else the kids would do at school, she said "eat, and play." So I think she has a general idea about school!

So here is Lilly with her Aunt Judi and the Little People on their way to school!

Here is Anna getting buried in the sand at Crystal Beach. Gorgeous Day!!

Lilly lOVES to beach, the water, the sunshine, the snacks! She spent about an hour on the blanket in the shade just grazing the lunch foods we packed!

here is Aunt Judi with the girls, ready to hit the beach. Jared was at a youth group pool party for the day.

Snuggle time at bedtime--sharing a room was an adventure! Lilly had a hard time settling down (and not talking to Anna) and most nights it was nearly 10pm before she finally did. We eventually decided it was better for Anna to fall asleep on our bed and Tom would carry her to the bed in Lilly's room later before we went to bed. Anna is GROWING! Tom was struggling and huffing and puffing to get her transferred!

And so Lilly has some big shoes to fill! She likes Anna's new school shoes!

Here is Anna and Lilly with some church friends after their recent Kidz Worship performance after a week of Kidz worship camp. Great production! Anna was a banner/ribbon dancing and did a great job. Lilly is a popular little thing with the young girls at church!

So now we are in our last week of summer vacation. Today was are facing the remnants of Tropical Storm Claudette, which stole our power through most of the night (Lilly woke up frightened of the dark...it was a long night). The rain has stoped for now and Jared and Anna have taken advantage of the break in the weather to do some bike riding (jared says they went about 3 miles). We are hoping to get in another beach day and a Big Kahunas day this week if the weather cooperates, but today I am enjoying a quiet day with nothing much on our agenda.

I am sad that the big kids will be back in school soon (though I know they will thrive and do well with routine and schedules again!). They are fun to be with and the summer has been a great time of bonding for us all.

All for now!

Long Overdue Update

Wow, a shot with Mommy in it! Cheesy smiles!

Here are Lilly, Anna, and friend Katie at Dairy Queen after Anna and Katie played their World Cup soccer tournament at the end of a week of British Challenger Soccer Camp. Fun week! Anna represented Ireland, while Katie represented Italy...Here's to Team Ireland!

Here is LIlly with my dear friend Denise, who recently moved to Virginia where she is joining her husband for the next Air Force assignment. We have been so blessed to have the Schaicks in our lives not just in Turkey (Steve was our chaplain for the first half of our time there), but also for the last 3 years here in Florida. Lilly loves Denise, and she was one of the friends that we have trusted to keep Lilly when Tom and I have taken time to go out or I've had appointments. I already miss her so much!

Here is Lilly with Ms. Parker, Anna's violin teacher and music teacher at Bluewater Elementary. I was so impressed with Lilly a few days ago. Lilly has seen Ms. Parker a handful of times this summer as we've taken Anna to violin lessons. When I showed Lilly Ms. Parker's photo in our local paper a few days ago and asked "do you recognize her?" Lilly smiled and said "La La!" (which is her word for violin--not a Chinese word, but the word that stuck in Lilly's head the first time I explained that we were taking Anna to violin lessons. I had pantomimed playing a violin and said "la, la, la" to show her where we were taking Anna. The term "la la" has stuck as the name of this instrument!)

(BTW, do you like Lilly's dollar store flip flops in this shot? Those were a necessary purchase when we recently planned a family day trip to Pensacola to have our car serviced. Tom and I thought we were so on top of getting out of the house early that morning, having loaded up clothes (the kids were still in jammies in the car!), snacks, stroller, etc. Halfway to Pensacola we realized we hadn't grabbed any shoes for Lilly. Thank God there was a dollar store within walking distance of the dealership!

Here is ANna with her la la teacher, after Anna's recital last week. I need to have Tom post some video of this. She did beautifully, especially considering she has only been playing for about 8 weeks! She will join the Bluewater Overture Orchestra at school this year.

Here is LIlly, enjoying Anna's recital. We are still working on using whispers in settings like this...

Sweet cuddle time with Jared. Lilly loves tucking in time, when she gets to kiss the big kids before I whisk her off to read bedtime stories.

Bedtime prayers with Daddy--so sweet! Lilly loves to pray and will remind us at mealtimes or bedtime if we forget. She offers up her own sweet prayers as well.

Time is just flying! The past few weeks have been fun and full, with lots of summer activities for the kids that have kept me moving. Aunt Judi arrives for a visit latear today--we are so excited for Lilly to get to meet her!

And in just 2 weeks the kids start back to school--Jared 7th grade, Anna 4th grade. Lilly will begin attending 2 mornings a week of preschool after Labor Day--she is very excited and I really think she is ready. She seems to have rounded a corner in the past few week, has been able to stay in the church nursery 2 weeks straight without me with her. I am looking forward to seeing how much more English she will learn in that setting. Her language development is amazing right now! Her primary language is Chinglish, but she is speaking in complete sentences these days and it is so exciting to hear new words coming out of her mouth every day.

Now Lilly and I (she is now up and has had breakfast) are on our way out to walk Tad (who has lately been been bringing us a baby possum as a gift--yuck!).

Thanks as always for reading!