Only Nathan...

Only Nathan would be laying here watching TV in pants, long sleeves, socks and a jacket....when it's 104 degrees outside!

One week of school down!

Well, other than Madison being dehydrated and having to miss her second day of school, both kids had a great week and made it through!

The second day of school, when Madison stayed home, Nathan CHOSE to ride in the carpool lane and walk in to school all by himself.  I was shocked.  It's usually the 2nd day that is always rough for him, but he flew right by that this year.  I am reminded that we made the best decision to wait another year for kindergarten...feeling so confident it was right for him.  He loves school!  And although he's been a little tired, he hasn't gone through ANY adjustment period like I thought he would!

Madison was a little emotional at first because it's her last year in elementary and she misses her old teacher.  But I know this will be a great year, and we have 9 months before we have to worry about leaving!  Plus, we're hearing from a lot of people that her next school is really fun.

I'm cherishing this one and only year of having my two babies together....it looks like it's going to be a wonderful school year!

Sweet friends....

I was making breakfast this morning, looked over and saw this.  They were cuddling together, and I had to get a picture!  I just love these two and their sweet bond.  Melts my heart.

An emotional morning!

My sweet girl is starting 4th grade (her last year of elementary), and my sweet boy is starting kindergarten (his first year of elementary)!  TOO MUCH EMOTION for me!  Madison, as always, was very excited for school to start and to see all her friends.  Nathan has been really excited counting down the days, and still seemed excited this morning.  But 6:15 is pretty early, even though he was excited to wake up early with his new spider-man alarm clock!

It was still a bit dark outside when we were ready for pictures....that means that school is way too early!

This is how Madison feels about school!

"King of the world"!

Mrs. Clay, Nathan's teacher.  I think we got lucky this year....she seems to be just what he needs in a teacher.  She's fun and very nurturing!  Michael and I managed to get out of the classroom before he saw us with tears in our eyes.  But we couldn't help it...he's our baby boy.  Can't believe he's in real school now.

Ms. Davis and Mrs. Blaha....Madison's TWO teachers this year!  Mrs. Blaha is her homeroom teacher and will do everything but math and reading.  I'm curious to see how this year goes...Madison is in an advanced class and it's the first year the school is doing this.  We'll see!  She's got great friends in her class, and two amazing teachers.  I think it'll be a great year!

These kids are growing way too fast.  It feels like yesterday when we were dropping off Madison in kindergarten.  If I could freeze time, I would.  I love these elementary years...such a precious time in their lives.  Praying for a wonderful year!

A special teacher....

Ms. Jackson had a reunion at Yogurtville for her class this afternoon, and Madison was so excited to see her and all her friends.  Not everyone was there, but it was a great turnout.  She is such a special teacher, and will always hold a very special place in our hearts!  She cares about these kids, even now when they are at different schools (Ms. Jackson is in another district this year).  She said that she wants to keep in touch with us, and she wants to come watch Madison in gymnastics again.  Not sure we'll ever get a teacher this amazing again, but it was a year we'll never forget!

Last day of summer...2013!

I'm usually really ready for school to start by this time, but for some reason, I'm not quite ready!  Maybe it's because I'm not ready for schedules and early mornings.  Maybe it's because the kids have been getting along so well this past few weeks.  Or maybe it's because I'm still in denial about my baby starting kindergarten!  But regardless of the reason, I'm not 100% ready just yet!  Today is our last day, but we've had a wonderful summer full of lots of fun!  The kids went to 2 VBS', Elevate Trampoline Park, Kid Mania, Medieval Times, Build a Bear, and blueberry picking.  We went to Pensacola for our annual beach vacation, and also the Great Wolf Lodge (total of 3 days and 1 night thanks to Michael breaking his toe!).  They saw a lot of movies, including Epic, Monsters U, Despicable Me 2, Turbo....and Madison saw Smurfs 2 in addition to these other movies!  She also went away to her first camp in July for two nights through Girl Scouts.  We spent a lot of time at the library, attending the summer shows and checking out a lot of books for the reading program!  We did a lot of random science experiments, fun games, arts and crafts, and had lots of play dates.  We went swimming, night swimming, swimming at Gaga's club, swimming in the rain, and more swimming...they even got to play in the rain one night.  They had a sleepover in Nathan's room for 18 days, (tonight will make 19 days) and never once got sick of sleeping on the floor.  These two have so much fun together, and love being silly!

It's been a wonderful summer.  The kids have had their share of fighting and arguing, but overall, they love spending time together.  They are each other's best friend.  I love hearing their giggles and having them ask me over and over if they can spend the night together.  I love seeing them cuddle up on the couch together every morning to watch cartoons.  Even through the rough moments this summer, I've loved it all.  I'm so lucky to have such a hard working husband who sacrifices so much to make sure I can stay home.  So blessed.  I'm praying for a wonderful school year ahead, for both my Kindergartner AND my 4th grader.  This is his first year of elementary, her last year of elementary, and the only year they'll ever be together in school.  I see a fun and emotional year ahead!!

Silly kids....

Just a few random pictures from the last couple of days.  After playing in shaving cream (which by the way ruined our kitchen table....don't ever put it on wood!), Madison thought she'd "shave like a man"!

And then Madison decided to dress Nathan up....she had a blast and so did he!

I love my crazy kids and their silly imaginations!

Medieval Times...

Nana took us to Medieval Times tonight, and the kids had a great time!!!  It was their first time here, and they weren't quite sure what to expect.  Nathan and Chance had a blast yelling the entire time for all the horses and knights...they thought it was pretty cool to be able to yell as loud as they wanted!

These two boys love each other and get along so well....they are a little crazy together, but they have so much fun!

Madison caught the flower from our knight!  She was VERY excited and held onto the flower all night long.

We had the red knight, who didn't win, but the kids had a blast cheering for him anyway!  They also enjoyed eating dinner with no silverware!  It was a fun night for the kids....they loved it.  Nathan said, "This is AWESOME.  When are we coming back?  Tomorrow?  I want to sleep here!"  I think he enjoyed it.  While Madison is a bit more quiet in her excitement, I think she had a good time and loved getting her flower too!  Thank you, Nana, for this fun experience!

19 more days....

19 more days....until KINDERGARTEN and 4th grade!  The first year of elementary for Nathan, and the last year of elementary for Madison!  Lots of emotions for this mama.

Kid Mania!

We decided to try Kid Mania today because a few people have mentioned that it's exactly like Going Bonkers, and it's MUCH closer!  So, we brought Casey along with us and the kids had a blast.  It was just like Going Bonkers...even the same cost.  So I will definitely be back - I like having something like this so close!

I love seeing Madison with her sweet friends....and of course, Nathan loves any older girl!  :)  It was a fun day!