The First Day of School

I bet most moms who blog will be posting pictures of the first day of school today - and I guess I am one of them. With new haircuts, clothes, and a few nerves, my kids went back to school. Not only will the kids have to start getting to bed and getting up earlier, I need to adjust my sleeping patterns as well. Back to reality, I guess!
Alex was the first kid up this morning at 6:30. He had to leave for the bus stop at 7:30. It was his first day of Junior High. He was pretty excited - a nervous excited, but excited. As he was walking away I made him pose for a picture.

Then it was on to helping the other kids get ready. Because everyone had laid out their clothes, it was pretty easy. I packed lunches, put gel in hair (boy hair is so easy) showered, and we were flying out the door.

I went to the parent/teacher presentation for Austin and Ben's classes and their teacher's will be great. They are each excited about their teachers so I am hoping for a good year!

Erin then had some friends over while their Mom's helped at the school. They ate lunch out on the patio and danced and played. It was pretty cute to watch.

I do love my kids, but I have to confess I am pretty excited about them going back. I have big plans to clean and organize. It seems so much easier when the kids are out of the house, then when it is time for them to come home I am excited to see them. I think school is a good thing for everyone...

Our 5th Annual Neighbor Trip to Bear Lake

Here's a few pictures of our trip to Bear Lake with our neighbors. This tradition started 5 years ago and has become one of the highlights of our summer.

This year it was during the first week of the summer Olympics and so the days were busy with time at the beach and nights were filled with watching the Olympics. It is always so fun for the kids. They have such a good time with all their friends. It gets a little loud at times, but everyone doesn't seem to mind too much. It was so relaxing and the weather was beautiful. It was hard to go home at the end of the week.

Last Week of Summer

So, one last week before school starts! Things have been busy here. We just returned from a long trip to Bear Lake (I will post some pictures soon) and returned in time to send Alex off on his first week long scout trip. He was excited to go. He has always been my homebody and so I am happy to see him go with very little anxiety.

Also, I am dealing with a broken dryer. The night before we left for Bear Lake I was running loads of laundry and it died on me. Knowing I was dryer-less, I ran all my loads at the lakehouse to buy some time here to figure out our course of action. After looking at having it repaired, it looks like we might be in the market for a new washer and dryer - so if anyone loves their washer and dryer let me know. I am going to start researching soon, but the repairman recommended Whirlpool.

One last thing, can I just say I have become on Olympic junkie? I have been addicted to watching everynight and I have DVR-ed events during the day. Women's triathlon was today and so I am excited to watch that one. Michael Phelps? Stud. The defining moment of the Olympics so far is men's 4x100 relay where the French were supposed to win and Jason Lezak swam that heroic last length to win. I am sad swimming is over but I am looking foward to some of the running events. The women's marathon was on Sunday and I am blown away by the speeds - 5:30 minute miles for 26.2 miles - amazing.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be an Olympian but I just turned out mediocre. That's ok. Suprisingly, I am happy being average. I like having a life that is not completely dedicated to one thing like these Olympic athletes have to have. Still, there are times I pretend on a bike or run that I am an elite athlete and just around the corner is a stadium full of people cheering for me. Cheesy, I know.

Erin's First Day of Ballet

Erin's long anticipated first day of ballet was yesterday. I can't believe she is old enough to finally go to Clytie Adams School of Ballet. We have watched our neighbors, the Francis girls, go for years and become beautiful dancers.
I asked her how she liked the first day and I think she was slightly disappointed that they didn't get to learn actual ballet the first day. She said they read a story and played follow the leader. No real "dancing" yet. I told her there is definately time for that. Her ballet teacher is pregnant with twins so I don't know how long she will teach before they will have to find a replacement. She loved meeting new friends and can't wait to go to her next class.

Orphans off Broadway

Our Little Thespians

During the month of July, Alex, Austin, and Erin participated in a summer drama camp put on by our neighbor, Dana. She is so talented and does such a fantastic job. They only practiced for 4 weeks and then gave the performance Thursday night. The theme was "Orphans off Broadway" where they sang songs from Annie, Big River, and Oliver. The kids looked forward to rehearsal each week where they learned the music and choreography. Thursday night we got to see the finished product and it was really amazing - quite impressive that they could pull it off after so little practice. It was obvious all the kids had such a great time and even Ben said he might try it the next time around. Thanks for all your hard work, Dana!