A kindergartner??

Can you believe there is a Kindergartner in my house? After a shaky introduction to the new idea of an all day kindergarten things have smoothed out and Ella will be starting school tomorrow. There was so much back and forth, rumors, lies and other things going on I was sure I was just going to homeschool her this year. Bret and I prayed about it a lot and decided to go ahead and send her. If she has trouble or we aren't happy with the way things are going I will pull her out then.

In a way I still took matters into my own hands. Less than a week before school was to start and still no definite word from the district on if there was going to be a 1/2 day program. So, I called and enrolled her in the school with the option to take her out at the 1/2 day point ourselves. I think this will be a good compromise. I am looking forward to speaking with her teacher and working out all of the details. She should be able to stay longer on the days the have "specials" including gym class, art, music and computers. Any curriculum she might miss the teacher will give to me so I can teach her at home.

I am excited to watch my little girl blossom and grow this year just like she did last year.

Party

Maddie had a fantastic party. The park was great, lots of places for the kids to run and play on the equipment. When we first walked up I was a bit surprised to see other people in the pavilion since we had it reserved. I found out they didn't have it reserved which gave us priority. My Dad and I grabbed up just about every picnic table there and laid everything out.

The sky was very grey and unbelievably cool for August 22. I bet it was barely 60 that day. Everyone had on coats, long sleeves and a few even had jackets.

Maddison was spoiled beyond belief with awesome gifts. She got lots of Wubbzy and Kai Lan things. Some nice outfits and of course some dolls. Little miss CRIED when we sang happy birthday to her. I think she was afraid of the candle but it was too cute.

A fantastic year, a fantastic party.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Today is Miss Maddie's SECOND birthday! My how time has flown. We have her party tomorrow so we were busy prepping for that today. First thing this morning when she woke up I told her happy birthday. She told me, "Happy Birthday Mommy." Melt my heart. :) I hopped up and gave her a couple of presents. She was so excited. Clapping her hands and saying PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. This was the first time she KNEW how to tear into those presents. Shredding paper and having a blast. I can not wait to see her at her party tomorrow with even more gifts from friends and family. When we were on our way to pick up big sister Maddie was singing in the back of the car, I'M TWO I'M TWO, TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO!

We have been so blessed by God concerning her health. Everyone remembers her scary and surprising start but what a glorious day to celebrate now. Thank you God for trusting us with Maddie and giving us such a sweet, funny loving little girl.

Catching up? HA!

I thought I was going to sit down and be more disciplined about my blogging. Obviously it hasn't happened. Summer is whizzing by and I can't even remember what happened yesterday. The girls are having a great time. We bought a small 9' pool a few days ago and they have been nothing short of fish. Even Maddie will get down low and swish her arms like she's swimming. Ella is practicing floating on her back and putting her face in the water. B....she goes EVERYWHERE. Jumping flipping, dunking. It's so fun to watch them. Even Grommet has been in a couple of times.

School for Ella is still up in the air at this point. The district keeps going back and forth on the 1/2 day vs. whole day Kindergarten. I don't really care what they decide, she will only be there for 1/2 a day. They can figure the rest out.

Maddie is about to turn two and plans are in full effect for her big birthday. It's going to be the biggest Wubbzy bash yet. I am so excited to see her in her outfit and surrounded by her family and friends on the big day.

Briana was invited to play in a softball tournament so she has had many practices for that. She will be great. Can't wait to watch her play.

Bret is back to work after a six week lay off. Four days a week 10 hours a day. It's been an adjustment. I suppose after a couple more weeks it will be no big deal. We are just thanking God he is back to work.

Camping

We went camping, well what I call camping. We went up to where Bret's parent's have their permanent camp site in Harrison. It is so nice. Super clean and in a convenient location to a few local stores. The weather was perfect. Not too hot, but warm enough for the kids to go swimming. We rented some recumbent bikes for the kids to ride. Those were so funny. Ella wasn't quite big enough to reach the pedals so we had to help her. Talk about a work out! We rented a movie for the kids before bedtime and everyone slept great. It is so nice being in a camper vs. a tent. In fact, if all there was were tents there is no way I would have even gone. I won't kid you. :) I am actually looking forward to going back up which is a surprise to even me.

Blogging Blah's

I have been beyond horrible about updating my blog. I have thought about it many times but just don't seem to get around to it. So here it is. Bret is still laid off work. We are about 1/2 way through. Things could be worse. It's so nice to have him home. The girls LOVE having Daddy here. I love having the option of sleeping in or other things that aren't always possible to do when here alone with the two girls.

Maddie is doing fantastic. Big #2 birthday around the corner. I can't believe it. I am in the process of designing her invitations and getting lists together. Ella is as crazy as ever. We are still working on reading and writing skills. Can't wait to get Briana home and have some good family time before school starts.

A hot date

Bret and I started dating again. It was so nice of my parents to come watch the girls for a few hours so we could get out and be a couple again. Last week we went to a wine tasting and ran some errands. Today we got to golf. We only golfed once last year and who knows when before that. I think we golfed once while I was pregnant for Maddie. We had a great time even though my ability surely falls short.

Funny thing is about us getting out "alone". We can't stop talking about the kids. We are talking about what they might be doing or about what they would be saying right now if they were with us.

The even funnier thing, we get out alone and all we can think about is taking a nap.

Seriously, we are very grateful to my parents for being able and willing to watch them and love that they are in great hands with them. It really makes our time relaxing. Now they are the ones that need a break so they can rest up for next time the piggies are on the loose.