Chiggie was all decked out for her first day. She was excited and nervous. Poor thing had to carry that heavy back pack all the way to school. It will be much lighter tomorrow.
I get a kick out of these shoes. She just loves them. They're colorful that's for sure.
Here's a picture of the girls this morning before church. Today was Kick Off Sunday as they call it. The girls were all promoted to their new classrooms and then we had a party after church complete with inflatable water slides, cotton candy, and sno-cones. Too fun. I'd have pictures of that but of course my camera died right when I turned it on.
Tomorrow is Chiggie's first day of second grade. We're all looking forward to it. I made sure to clip her nails and wash off her temporary tattoos this evening. Her sun kissed cheeks and naturally highlighted hair will be the only evidence this summer ever even existed.
This is our last week of summer. It should prove to be a pretty relaxing week. We'll try to hit the pool one last time, weather pending. Our church is also having its Fall Kickoff this Sunday complete with water slides and bounce houses for the adults and kids. Other than that we are spending our time "practicing" for next week. This means we are back to an 8pm bedtime for the kids and up no later than 8am. It was fun while it lasted, but structure is our friend.
Today was another busy day for us. This morning I took Chiggie to her 2nd grade returning student registration. She found out who her teacher will be, the names of the kids in her class, and picked up a new handbook. She left feeling excited and I'm glad she got the teacher that she wanted.
I also registered Chiggie and Tea for fall soccer. It will be Tea's first year and Chiggie hasn't played since Kindergarten. They are both excited and I'm glad we'll have something to keep us busy this fall. It's a new program here in town that is less competitive than the rec district and they only practice once a week and then play games on Saturdays. I'm relieved we won't be over committed. They will also start youth group and I'm attending a women's bible study while they're there.
In the meantime I'm trying to get things a bit more organized around here. We've been very relaxed this summer and operated entirely on our own schedule. It will be a major change to be on a real schedule. We NEED the structure though.
Today was hot. Very hot. The only way to cool off was of course the pool. I even got in for a bit which has been a rarity this summer. Believe it or not I really am looking forward to fall. The smells, the leaves, the holidays. All of those things really appeal to me. 
Until then, I will enjoy these hot summer days at the pool!Yesterday we set out on the adventure that is school clothes shopping. Lucky for us, we were able to go on a Friday, which saved us the massive crowds. We also lucked out that all of the other local districts start school on Monday and we start in two weeks. I think we got better deals because of this. We spent less this year than ever and I think she got more stuff too. We had to go to a couple of stores, but we finally found the hy-tops she wanted too. It feels good to have it done with time to spare.
I have to say though the behaviour of two of my children left quite a bit to be desired. To protect their identity we'll call them #2 and #3. They were relentless in their bickering and even got physical on a couple of occasions. We took the truck which put them in much closer proximity than they are used to in the SUV. There was a lot of "she's looking at me," " she's touching me," and all of the other cliche' sibling issues. We survived though and in the end I chalked their outbursts up to exhaustion. 7 hours of shopping wears on even the strong in spirit. I can't believe in two weeks we're back to the school routine. Wow.
School is getting ready to start. Only two full weeks of vacation left. We've been busy making preparations. Chiggie has all of her school supplies, a new backpack, and we're going school clothes shopping on Friday. I always loved the fresh start of a new year when I was a kid and I think it's important for Chiggie to feel "new" at the beginning as well. She is very excited to start back up which is a change from last year. She's been reading all summer long and we've done several science projects so I think she'll pick up right where she left off. I'm looking forward to the structure the new year will bring.
Last Tuesday I took Chiggie to the eye doctor. It was recommended at her physical when they couldn't get her vision to 20/20. I wanted to get her in before school started just in case she would need glasses to see in class. She was so excited at the prospect of getting glasses. She spent the entire time in the waiting room looking at frames and cases. Once we got called back her excitement diminished just a bit. She was not fond of having her eye pressure checked. Then again, I don't know very many adults who can willingly hold their eye open while a puff of air is blown into it.
We got through that part and than were sent back to the lobby to wait for the doc. The doctor was very friendly and he made her feel at ease right away. I relaxed and he led her through the exam. There was a lot of "what looks better, this or this? #1 or #2?" She cooperated and soon they were finished.
Then came the bad news. Chiggie says it was all in slow motion. One minute she was in the exam chair, just following instructions, and the next she was hearing the words her little ears just weren't ready to hear. "You DON"T need a prescription. You're vision is perfect." He may as well have told her he ran over our puppy in the parking lot or McDonald's is closing permanently. She was crushed. No fancy lenses. No Hannah Montana glasses case. She pleaded for him to check just one more time and he chuckled assuring her this was indeed a good thing. I on the other hand was of course relieved. I have poor vision and am very aware of everything that comes with that. She's a character that Chiggie.
We're still here. I can't really say we've been busy, just hanging out I guess. Today we made a foaming sea creature and the girls really loved it. Chiggie won a science kit during school last year and the idea was inside. Next week we're going to try making baking soda crystals on yarn. I'll let you know how that turns out.
This afternoon we're going to the library. The reading program is over and today we get to collect their prizes. It's bittersweet because Midge and Tea got prizes and the other two didn't. The prizes are chosen through a drawing so it's totally random. Tea won a digital camera and a photo album and Midge won a craft kit. I'm sure they will share and everyone will enjoy both prizes.Today wasn't a normal Sunday for us. Usually we get up early, make it to church, come home and just lounge the rest of the day. Today we were busy, busy, busy. We did get to relax tonight at the Church's pool party. It was a lot of fun. For us and the girls. They swam for literally 3 hours straight. It was nice to socialize with other parents and the girls had fun playing with all of their church friends. I should've taken my camera, but I was so busy trying to get everybody ready and the food all loaded up that in the end it got left behind. It probably worked out for the best. We all know me, electronics, and water don't always mix well.
Wow, I didn't realize that it had been so many days since I last posted. We're in the midst of enjoying a pretty busy summer weekend. Today has felt like such a long day. Last night we went to the drive in and saw the movie G-Force. It was cute and the girls really enjoyed it. It helped that it had rained yesterday and it was a cool night. We didn't get too hot or stuffy at all. The little girls fell asleep on the way home and were carried to their beds. The older girls napped on the way home and came home and stayed up half the night. Oh well, they left me to sleep.
This morning/early afternoon we did a ton of yard work. Mowed/pulled lots of weeds and gathered a large lump of stuff for a trip next weekend to the dump. It doesn't look great (our grass is dead) but it looks maintained. This afternoon we're hanging some shelves in the dining room and I'm excited to put all my knick knacks that have been stored away since we remodeled.
Tomorrow we are going to church in the morning and then a pool party, for the church, in the evening. Good times. The girls do love them some swimming so we should have fun. Yesterday I also took Chiggie to buy all of her school supplies, backpack, and stuff. I was surprised at how cheap it actually was. One more month and she be back in the system. She's ready. I'll enjoy the structure I'm sure. Until then I plan to enjoy the last few drops of summer.
