First Grade

Somehow, someway, my itty bitty little girl grew up and she is now old enough to be a first grader. WHAT?!?

We're homeschooling again this year and I am determined to be a bit more consistent this year with our schedule- mostly because our dear Emma thrives on schedules and order- and so, today for our first day, I had a color coded pocket chart filled out with all the different things that we needed to do. She LOVED it! Aside from being more consistent, I'm also determined to be done with "school" by 10am. I mean really, what does a first grader need to learn that takes more than a few hours a day?

Anyway, here's a few pictures from our first day:

(she insisted on holding a My Little Pony along with her sign)

(decorating her journal for the year with lots of flair!)

Meanwhile, the boys were busy building an awesome tower:


Then Grady drew her a picture of a princess mermaid and dictated what dot letters he wanted me to put on the card for his sister:
(the large circles are the shoulders and knees. the words he wrote: "I love you. You're going to have fun in first grade." my heart is melting!)

After our school work was done, Emma was having so much fun that she insisted on practicing her piano. I know that it's just a freak occurrence that she's all excited about school and all, but hey, I'm not gonna complain!

Squirrels

Um, is it just me or is this picture totally disturbing?


I guess the squirrels around here think they can just lounge around all day. (Yes, it is still alive)

Anyone have a dog we could borrow? Or a pellet gun?

Not quite 4....

Grady's 4th birthday is still more than a month away, but he decided that he was big enough to ride his bike without training wheels. So off to the park he and Dylan went to attempt this feat on a softer surface than the asphalt on our street. Well, after one push, off he went and he hasn't stopped since! After the park he came home and did hundreds of laps around our cul-de-sac, this morning his dad took him on a ride around our neighborhood, and this afternoon he's been bombing up and down our neighbors' driveways for hours. Needless to say, he's pretty proud of himself!

well, that was worth it....

12 hours of my time + 1.5 hours of travel to drop off & pick up my kids + countless hours of anxiety & lack of sleep = $16.36. awesome.

Tahoe or bust....

We have been blessed with some amazing friends whose amazing parents own an amazing home in Tahoe. We've had the privilege of an invitation to this house a handful of times in the winter, but this past weekend, we got to go and do the summer thing. And in the words of Emma, "being here in the summer is WAY better than coming in the winter when it's cold and snowy and all you can do is sled." So there you have it!

The highlight of the weekend according to Emma and Grady: going on the "motor boat." Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen Emma so happy. And once Grady stopped crying inconsolably because his dad fell off the tube in the "really really deep end" of Lake Tahoe, he ended up loving it too! Landon took a nap.



The highlight of the weekend according to the grownups was rafting the Truckee river. 4 adults, 5 kids, a big raft, perfect weather...... it was so. much. fun!



We also swam in Donner Lake,

(Dowds minus Kira plus Emma and Grady)

and just loved spending some quality time with our friends. Thanks for having us Dowd family!

You know you're old when....

you're forced to choose between your shoes and your back. I had to choose in favor of my back this week and now am a proud(?) owner of a pair of Birkenstocks. And you know what? Since I've been wearing them all day, tonight is the first night in a few weeks that my back is not in excruciating pain. So yes, I'd say that the trade-off between fashion and function was definitely worth it.... this time :) I still hold out hope that once I get rid of this extra 30 or so pounds that are hanging off the front of me and throwing my body out of balance that I can go back to my good ol' Rainbows, but if not, well, at least my back-friendly shoes go well with the wirey gray strands that have been popping straight of the part in my hair lately.

Since May

Well, since it's now August, I guess you probably wonder what we've been up to this summer. Just admit it, you're dying to know.

In May, this little girl turned 6:


we had a chance to stay at my aunt's HB house one last time before she sells it:

and we hung out at the Concord Airport because that place is awesome:

In June, we overpacked and went camping for 5 days:

our kids went on their first BART trip:


and I ran away for a few nights and drank a really big latte:



In July, my kids super-cooperated for a 4th of July photoshoot:


Emma started ballet class and taught her brothers everything she knows:

we went to Lake Arrowhead for a church retreat:



the kids had a mud fight:


we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom:


Landon learned how to fend for himself:

and the kids had swim lessons, and soccer class, and I had jury duty, turned 30, and found a gray hair.

There you have it! We hope you've been having a great summer too!