Thankful. :)

I have so much for which to be thankful.  Even if I were to list everything that came to mind, I know I'd still overlook/leave out/take for granted/etc. hundreds of blessings in my life.  But I won't let that stop me from naming just a few of the obvious.

I am so, so thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for the education my children are receiving and for the schools they attend.  And I'm thankful for my job:  thankful that I enjoy it, thankful that it is close to home and close to my kids' schools, and thankful that I can take time to participate in some of the "stay-at-home mom" stuff that happens with my awesome kiddos.

Last week, I had the awesome opportunity to attend Thanksgiving celebrations for both Harris and Hadley.  On Wednesday morning, I made it over to Freeman's Mill for the "Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast." 

The entire Kindergarten population paraded into the cafeteria on Wednesday morning to find a feast waiting for them!  I guess celebrating Thanksgiving with turkey, corn, rolls, applesauce, popcorn (?), and brownies at 9:30 in the morning is as good a way to celebrate as any! 

The kiddos were dressed as Pilgrims and Indians and performed a funny Thanksgiving song for the parents.  And then they chowed down while all the adults watched.  It's such a hoot to watch Harris at school:  he has TONS of friends and smiles and waves and talks to everyone.  I have no idea what happened to my shy little guy, but I am so thankful he feels so comfortable at school.

Every student had a particular place setting at their lunch table.  Below is Harris'.  I'm pretty sure he's the only one who wrote his last name. :)

He's a mess.

I had to head back to work before his class left the cafeteria, but it seems like a good time was had by all.

And Wednesday morning wasn't the only day the Kindergarteners spent in celebration!  On Thursday, Ben (and me-briefly!) got to join Harris for the "Thanksgiving Lunch" prepared in the school cafeteria.  It's been a long time since I've eaten in an elementary school cafeteria.  What a rite of passage that is!

On Friday, I was able to head over to Primrose to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with Babe.

Her class also performed a couple of songs for us parents.  Hadley's favorite Pre-K song, by far, is "A-Toodie-Ta," and she was stoked for me to watch her sing it with her class.  So stoked, in fact, that she told her teacher earlier in the week that I was going to get up and sing with her!!  God bless Ms. Audra for allowing me to sit that one out. :)

Watching Babe interact at school is crazy fun, too.  She is the epitome of the word "silly."  She LOVES to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.  And she certainly doesn't shy away from attention.  She, too, is quite a hot mess.

The Primrose "feast" included food for everyone.  Primrose, as always, provided turkey and dressing for the class and us parents filled in the rest.  There was quite a spread!  Babe chose to contribute green beans and was very proud of my effort in preparing them.  I'm thankful that she is easy to please. :)

Her place setting included a list of things for which she was thankful, including:  having food, being with my momma, playing with my momma, tickles, and salsaltio turkey." 

Guess I need to buy the girl some salsalito turkey.

Thank you, Ms. Audra, for making Babe's first school experience fantastic!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Hoedown!

About a week ago, the PTA at Harris' school hosted their fall fundraiser, which happened to be a hoedown.  It was awesome!!!

Kids could purchase cowboy hats and bandanas, a DJ played tons of great music in the decorated gym, Papa Jack's catered BBQ and a decent dessert table, and they even had pony rides! 

The kids had so much fun running around and yelling, "howdy, pardner" and calling Ben, "boss."  Speaking of Ben, he was asked to host the scarecrow auction (his auctioneer skills are becoming well known!) and did an awesome job.

All the money raised is going toward the purchase of new playground equipment, so it was a pretty exciting night.

Hadley TORE IT UP on the dance floor and can't wait to participate in the "Kindergarten dance" next year.  Harris was a bit shy about dancing but loved running after his friends and playing pin-the-tail on the horse.

The pony rides were a big hit, too. 

Sweet Emmy enjoyed the view from her stroller.  She really is such a laid back baby!

It was such a fun evening...and far exceeded our expectations!  We're already counting down the days until next year!

The First Day of School.

What an exciting day for our entire family! 

Snacks were packed the evening before.  Outfits were selected as well.  We were ready to rock and roll on Monday morning!

These two.  Seriously.

And here's a pic of all three right before we headed out the door...I'm pretty sure Babe was over pictures by this point. :)

We rode together (the kids and I in Big Red, with Daddy following) to drop Emmy off at Ms. Ginnell's and then headed to Primrose for Babe's big day.  I don't even think it dawned on her to be nervous.

 Ben said when he picked her up, all anybody could comment on was the amount of words that came out of her mouth.  My sweet girl is right at home in Pre-K.

After leaving Babe in good hands at Primrose, we headed to Twin Rivers to get ready for Harris to catch the bus.  He got a little nervous (clingy) when he saw the good-sized group of kids at the bus stop, but once that bus pulled up to school, there was no looking back.

They love it.  Both of them.  To say I'm thankful would be an understatement.

What I wouldn't give to watch their every move...

Pinata Party.

This year, instead of our typical "out-to-eat to celebrate the start of school" outing, we opted to stay close to home.

Granti, Auntie, and DB were able to join us for dinner (McDonald's chicken nuggets...kids' choice!) and then stick around for the highlight of the evening...the back-to-school pinata!!!!

We filled that bad boy with the kids' favorite candies (jolly ranchers, tootsie rolls, and dum dums) and let them go town in the front yard.

They had a blast!  It was so funny to watch them scamper for candy once the pinata broke...I think they forgot it was just the two of them...

And the best part is that McDonald's and a Wal-Mart pinata ended up being way cheaper and much more fun than any restaurant could have been!

We finished the evening by heading to the backyard to give Harry a haircut and play in the water hose for a little while before heading to bed.  I managed to take some really great pictures of Ben and the kids playing in the water, but unfortunately can't post them.  After haircuts, we always let the kids strip off their clothes and run around the backyard butt naked.  It's pretty redneck.  And pretty awesome, too.  Especially when Ben wets the slide and lets the kids fly down it...always makes us laugh!

After baths, Bible stories, and bedtime prayers, these guys were wiped out and ready for bed!  I still can't believe they're old enough for school...

Oh, my heart.

They're All Getting So Big...

We met Harry's Kindergarten teacher this week.  I like her. :)

We sorted his supplies, turned in the "homework" he'd received in the mail, picked up some info on PTA, and watched him make a craft in his classroom. 

He's pumped.  I am, too, and I know he's ready...but pregnancy hormones and preparing to send my sweet, innocent, precious firstborn to elementary school are a lethal combination.

We celebrated on Thursday night (because we were too tired to make dinner) by heading to Luigi's.  Emmy Doe sat for the first time in a big girl high chair.  Seriously...she's getting so big.  She's at my very favorite baby stage though-where she can sit but not move. I'm eating her up!

Our family was blessed on Thursday night when some complete strangers paid for our meal.  Ben was wearing his gun and badge (again, too tired to even change clothes) and an elderly couple in the restaurant wanted to thank our family for his service.  Kindness is such a beautiful thing!  I can't wait to pass it on...

On Friday morning, we took Hadley to meet her Pre-K teacher.  That girl doesn't have a shy bone in her body.

She hugged her teacher, initiated conversations with the new friends in her room, found three "Horties" in the animal bucket, and picked up a small cutting board in the kitchen center and said, "Look at this big ol' spanking spoon!"

I'm so excited to watch her grow and develop this year.  She's going to be a handful. :)

Both Babe and Harry picked to attend their Open Houses without their siblings in tow.  Ben and I treated each of them to McDonald's before heading to their respective schools and really enjoyed the time with them as individuals.

I can't wait to see what this school year brings!

Let the Battle Begin.

Boys.

And homework.

They don't mix.  At least, that's been my experience so far.  And we're only in Kindergarten!

Don't get me wrong, he does his homework.  And he does it well.  But he doesn't enjoy it, he wants to rush through it, and he could care less if it's neat.  He just wants to get to that Wii.

And it's so foreign to me.  I liked homework, I took my time, and I wanted it to be as neat as possible. 

Can I grow that in him?