gymnastics

I couldn't wait to put Emmy in gymnastics.  Our friend who owns the gym where Emmy is taking classes told me not to start lessons until she was 2 1/2.  Now that Bryce is in school, it was the perfect time to start!  She had her first class on Friday and she had lots of fun.  They have a large gym where the started out and finished the class and a smaller gym where they spent most of their time. 

 

She has on her listening ears if you're wondering why her fingers are in her ears, ha!

After listening to the directions, the kids started off on their rotations.  First up was the bear walk on the parallel bars. 

 

Next they hopped the "rocks" and walked the balance beam.  She did fine by herself the next few times across.

 

Then they did a forward roll down a wedge and a handstand on the wall.

 

She cracked me up when it came time to sit on the swing.  She tried to sit on it like a regular swing and finally had to get help!

 

When they were finished in the little gym, they went out to the big gym for the tumble track.  Can't go wrong with a trampoline! 

 

She's so excited that her friend Avery is in her class.

 

We're both pretty excited about this little outing on Fridays.

first day of KINDERGARTEN

Bryce was super excited about today!

 

 

I have given up on dressing Bryce in clothes that I want him to wear and given in to his athletic look.  We did a little back to school shopping so he would at least have matching outfits since he's inclined to wearing any color/style basketball shorts with any color t-shirt.  I was pleased with his choice today!

 

He hopped on the bus and never looked back.  Of course, by bedtime, he was upset about the bus and wants me take him to school because he doesn't know anyone.  I told him he can't give up yet, so we'll see how this goes!  And that lunch box he's holding was misplaced by another teacher before he made it to his class so I got a call from the school at 9:30 today that Bryce didn't have a lunch.  Of course I was at Bible study, so my mom saved the day and took him a new lunch and bought him a new lunchbox! 

 

Luckily, I had planned a few surprises for Bryce when he got home from school and boy was I glad I did.  It was even more important after the whole lunch incident.  But sources tell me, the lunchbox has been found and will be returned to us tomorrow!

 

We may have also had a fun snack when he got home.  Don't mind the kitchen renovation going on in the background!

 

I had also already planned to fix his favorite dinner tonight too!

 

And it helped that he had his first baseball practice tonight and his cousin Chase, two preschool friends, and a teammate from last year are all on the team this year!  He was super excited to be reunited with everyone!  Hoping for an even better day tomorrow!

the last day of summer

Not only is today Labor Day, but for our school system, it's the last day of summer vacation.  Tomorrow we start a new chapter..........kindergarten (and a long road of schooling).  We packed our day with fun to end summer with a bang!  First stop, Krispy Kreme for breakfast!

Today is opening day of dove season and Jason and Bryce were ready!  Bryce doesn't actually hold or shoot a gun yet, but he's got the dove call down pat!

 

With a little team work, they brought home two doves.  It was way too hot today to stay out long.

 

Our neighbors invited us over for a cookout this afternoon so we joined in for some pool time before heading to Jason's parent's house for a cookout for his sister's birthday.

 

 

We ended the night with the perfect book and prayers for Bryce's day tomorrow, his teacher, bus driver, and classmates.

 

I've had my sappy moments this week about the reality of Bryce going to kindergarten, but tonight I'm doing pretty well.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow, but with that smile on his face, I can sleep in peace tonight knowing that Bryce is excited for this new adventure!

"spray"ground fun

I tried to fill our days with fun this past week as we made the most of the last week of summer.  I feel like I was pretty successful.  Friday, we headed to a new and free "spray"ground.  We met the Shipleys and Caddells and had lots of fun!

 

 

It was a little chilly that morning and Bryce shook like a leaf the whole time, but loved every second of it.

 

These two stick together like glue.

 

See what I mean?!?

 

Emmy was talking about going to a local park tonight and Bryce told us we would have plenty of time to go without him and Thomas since they would be in school.  I'm so glad he's so positive about the reality of that and even more glad that the boys got in one last play date before school.

 

Baby Aaron even got to join in on the fun.  Emmy and Taylor took turns fighting over mothering him all morning.

 

Our little Ninja Warrior in training likes to climb on EVERYTHING!

 

Since we stayed so busy this week, I was okay with staying at home and being lazy and getting chores done around the house today.  It was SO nice!  The return of college football helped!

cardinal camp

Not only was today Open House day where kids find out who their teacher is, but Bryce's school has a special camp for kindergarteners to have a mini school day.  This was something I was thrilled about because we didn't offer anything like this at the school where I taught.  Thanks to Barbara, I have documentation of this day/event!  Here are the boys patiently awaiting to find out who their teacher was.  Barbara and I knew that they were going to be in the same class (we kept it a secret from the boys), but we didn't know who the teacher would be.  We were also excited to find out that Jason's cousin's daughter is also in their class.

 

 

Once we found the classroom, Bryce went right to work at his seat.

 

We took a break to make is lunch choice for Tuesday.

 

After getting the kids settled, it was time for the parents to leave.  Of course Barbara snapped a few pictures of their time at "camp".

 

Bryce told me he couldn't wait to go back to school everyday!  That sure does make thinking about the first day a lot easier on me!

 

After school, we headed to Sweet Frog to celebrate.

 

I was so excited about today and was kind of counting down the days, but now that it's over, I'm going back to putting the breaks on our summer vacation and hoping the next 4 days don't go by too quickly!

last day on the lake

We headed to the lake yesterday for our last boat ride of the season.  We took the Shipleys with us this time and we had tons of fun!

 

 

Nothing better than the wind blowing through your hair!

 

Whitlock and Shipley kids.

 

These boys had tons of fun!

 

Splash!

 

Emmy learned to love the water a lot earlier than Bryce!

 

He's gotten so brave in the water.

 

Jumping off the boat is his new favorite thing.

 

A trip to the lake isn't complete without a stop at Dairy Queen on the way home.

 

Until next year!

5 1/2

What's a half birthday without a little celebration?!?  Barbara organized a play date with last year's preschool class for one more get together before the kids started kindergarten so I decided to bring cupcakes along for a snack to help Bryce celebrate turning 5 1/2.   We even sang "Happy half birthday to you". 

 

 

Friends from both years of preschool.

 

Luckily he doesn't have to say goodbye to all of his preschool friends.  He and Thomas will have each other (hopefully in the same class).

 

Emmy always enjoys a play date with the girls and they enjoy it just as much!

 

 

We went and said goodbye to the teachers one last time.

 

To top off the fun day, Jason took Bryce frog giggin' and he got his first frog all by himself!  He was so excited to tell me all about it when he got home!

 

I'm so glad this sweet boy made me a mama five and a half years ago!

back to school celebration at the library

Our local library had a back to school celebration today.  Barbara had told me about it since she had been in previous years.  I already had something scheduled today, so Jason took the kids.  It was a fun event to help kids (especially kindergarteners) prepare for their first day of school.

 

 

Barbara had also emailed Bryce's preschool class from this past year to tell them about the event and many showed up for a fun time.

 

First ride on a real school bus!

 

How is that sweet little face already old enough to ride a school bus?!?

 

Might as well take advantage of the fire truck too!

 

Emmy wasn't a fan of the mascots and such at the event, but she did get her face painted!

 

Emmy has already told me "I miss Bryce at school".  Me too baby girl, me too. 

 

Next week is our last week of summer and you better believe I'm going to soak up every last minute with my sweet boy.  I'm sad that I worked during the first three years of Bryce's life, but I'm so thankful to have been home with him the past two years.  I'm not sure if that's going to make putting him on the bus on September 2 that much easier or harder!  Prayers please!