School Firsts

Denver was off bright and early to start 1st grade. She was ready an hour ahead of time and asked every 5 minutes if it was time to go. She has a new teacher this year and while I am a little nervous that she only graduated last year, I don't want to be age-ist(?). I'm sure she will do fine!
Willa started going to the Pre-K program here and today was her first day on the bus. She did great and was just about as excited for school as she was that Daddy got to come home to see her get on the bus! She still had time for a quick finger snuggle(for those who don't get to see her often, she will frequently suck on her two fingers and place the other hand on her cheek. She insists that she is NOT tired!)

Firsts

As I write, the girls are at school for the first day this year. Denver starting 1st grade and Willa starting Pre-K(Pics coming soon but not yet). But before school started, we had a few other firsts too. First of the firsts, the girls went camping. Without us. A fact that did not make them shed one tear. The famous Aunt Tia took them to Jellystone Campground.

They have a very nice camper that they took and the girls felt right at home! It looked like a wonderful place for kids. Waterslides, hayrides, sandy beach, paddleboats, crafts, build a stuffed animal, playgrounds, miniature golf.. the list is endless! They had a blast, never cried once, and I'm sure must have yelled, "Aunt Tia" about 1000 times! They did not have cell phone service so I could only check up with them through a little IMing via FB. I did miss them but knowing they were having such a great time minimized the crazies that can sometimes go with missing your kids. And strange to me is the idea that they now have all these memories that have nothing to with Wayne or me. Happily my niece and nephew were able to join them and also another friend of ours and her son too. I am sad I missed it but between Ady and v-ball, there was just no way I could go.

Also a first for us was a garage sale. Usually I am the one stopping at them. I love a good deal. But this time it was for us to put on. There were so many things of Grandpas still in the basement that the family decided to hold a garage sale. I kept some things that I loved even if the memories from them were much before my time. And I was surprised at how great the urge was to snatch back some things, not wanting to part with the little threads of Grandpa. Surprised at how much it still stung to not have him here. What did not sell was donated to the Blessing Barn. A couple from my parents church that help out people who have nothing. Grandpa would have liked that.

Long ago, to be specific it was the day of Grandpa's funeral, a little boy accidentally rolled a ball into one of our basement windows. It had broken and we had temporarily put a piece of cardboard up to cover it and used some painters tape to keep it there. We always meant to fix it but like so many home repairs, it got pushed to the back burner. Well, a year and a half later, we finally got around to it. And when I say we, I really mean Wayne. There are some home projects you put off, thinking they will be long and involved and likely expensive. I guess this poor window made us cringe at the thought. But turns out it was easy and now looks quite nice. (Granted, I didn't actually do any of the work so when I say easy, it's because it required less than 10 trips to the hardware store and was done in a reasonable amount of time and I heard no swearing or mutterings during the repair) It's rare that a home project doesn't turn into something bigger than intended so what a nice change to have a weekend project, take less than an actual weekend!





There was still a bit of time for the excellent craftsman to pose for pictures!

Pouty Puss

Ady has the cutest pouty face and I finally got it in a picture. Such a doll! She has taken to waking up again in the middle of the night due mostly because she has learned to roll from her back to her tummy. Evidently, the wee hours of the morning make her forget that she knows how to roll back. She is, however, extremely happy to see me every time.

Zoo

We went to the zoo the other day and were lucky to be joined with Shawn, Wayne's brother, and his little ones. This little doll is their youngest, Ellianna. The cousins are all close in age and when they are together, it turns out, they are very loud:) We had a nice little evening of it. Our zoo is small but nice, even if it does make me kinda sad by the end. I mean all those animals, in these entrapped areas. With not nearly enough room to feel...unjailed. But perhaps I am too sentimental about it.

Wayne's Mom was able to join us too and so happy we were that she did as we got our copy of her newly published book! This is the first book she's published and she has been working on it for so long! Truly a labor of love! We're so happy for her that she has finally reached this goal and we wish her so much success with it. The title of it is "What's Done is Done." You can get your own copy here!
Here's the author with her 16th grandchild!

Corbett's Glen

Denver's fabulous Kindergarten teacher from last year used to take all the kids on a Friday walk. A couple parents would come in and we would walk around the neighborhood and point out things that were interesting and so on. Over the summer she thought it would be fun to continue this tradition for Friday walks and meet a couple times at local parks and trails. Have I mentioned that she's fabulous? Considering this is her vacation, I think she is just outstanding and I wish our school looped so she could stay with Denver for a second year. Then she would be back to Kindergarten in time for Willa. I'm dreaming, our school does not loop but I hope this next year will be as good or even better for the girls as last.

Anyhow, we met at a small trail in Brighton called Corbett's Glen. What a gem of a place. Perfect for some small persons in need of cooling off. We had a blast, even if the skeeters were on the aggressive side. As were a couple bees that thought Wayne got too close to their nest. Underneath that waterfall there was a little shelf that the brave ones could climb on, so with a little convincing from Daddy, Denver made it.





There was a steep sandy hill that really challenged me since I had Ady in the front carrier. But we prevailed and everyone made it up the small mountain safely. Note to self: when photographing in or around water, be very careful not to bite it. I very nearly dunked my camera in the creek but managed to not get Ady or the camera too wet. We saw crayfish, and Denver even caught a little frog. Possum absolutely loved the place and was a tired, wet, stinky dog when we got home so he earned himself a nice bath.

Supper Sleepies

Dinner can really wear a girl out!