School!!!

We have officially started the 2014-2015 school year!  This year threw us a little curve ball.  Since we moved a year ago, we ended up in a new school boundary.  We tried to open enroll in the school where Zane had already gone (Kohl) but to make a long complicated story short, we never got a spot there.  So we ended up having to move to a new school (Aspen Creek).   I felt so bad for our Zane, to move him away from friends and a school he really liked. And I was bummed to have to leave my friends that we had made too! So I felt pretty worried and nervous the first day.  

But Zane was unbelievable!  He was such a champ at joining right in and meeting new people and just being completely fine with a new school.  He has been happy everyday and is handling the change way better than I ever expected. I love how sometimes we learn so much from our kids.  I just need to follow his example of jumping right in to a new situation with a super positive attitude!! 

And so far, the school seems great and we will be good about staying in touch with friends from our old school. :) I'm so so so so proud of him.

Zane is a second grader!!!!!!!!!!!! That is the grade that I taught!  It just seems so so weird to me that my sweet baby could be that age.  His teacher's name is Mrs. Stone.  She seems like she's ready to challenge the kids and teach them a lot.  He also got to be clustered with other gifted and talented kids to have other kids like him to work with.  

Right now, he's into sports!  He is loving football and other sports.  He wants to wear the right gear when he plays different sports - like he'll wear his football gloves to play catch, his shin guards to play soccer, cleats, etc. etc. He also loves Under Armour and bright colors.  He's still really into reading too.  He read SO MANY BOOKS this summer.  We found a few new series that he loved.  I always enjoy searching for the next book in a series (because he has to read them in order of course). We spent so much time keeping up with him, getting books at the library and buying some for his Kindle. One of his favorite books this summer was about a game called MineCraft.  He spent to much time reading and learning the tricks and strategies of this game.  And then he applied it when he played.  He must have spent HOURS explaining all he learned about it to me.  But I loved that.  He also loves riding his bike and hiking and playing outside. Since our trip to Disneyland, he has also wanted to play Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean with the other kids.

 I love this big 7 year old.

 The other two wanted to have their backpacks with them too, just in case. LOL

 When we walked up to Zane's school, he just set his backpack down and joined the other kids on the basketball court.  Then, he said bye and found his door on his own.

 Then,  a few days later, our sweet girl started Kindergarten!!!!!!!!!! She goes 3 hours every morning.
Right now, Emmy is really into princesses.  Every few days, she makes an announcement about which princess is her new favorite.  She plays with her dolls non stop and puts them into the right sets.  She also loves the villains. She still loves imaginary play.  She is so good at pretending and acting.  She's so creative, too, so she loves to color and create art. She's emotional and sensitive (aren't most 5 year old girls?) but so loving.  She is fearless on rides, her bike, swimming, and other adventures.  She also has been obsessed with playing games - Clue Jr., puzzles, memory, etc...

She did so well on her first day.  She was READY to go.  When her teacher opened the door to let the kids in, she didn't even look back.  She just walked right in and hung her stuff in her cubby and was ready for the day. I'm so proud of how independent she is and what a good friends and leader she is to others...

 We got to listen to a story in her classroom.

 She gave Smith a huge hug before we left.

 This was her taking her Kindergarten assessment - on the computer!!  Crazy that it was all electronic.  But she knew just what she was doing so she did great.

 A huge change about our new school is that the kids can ride the bus!!  We weren't sure we were going to do it, but once we tried it once, we decided it was going to be good.  Zane thought it was so fun, and it stops right by our house.  Its been saving us a lot of time too, which isn't a bad thing.  The only downfall is that it doesn't get home until 4 in the afternoon, which feels so late.

I absolutely adore this picture of Emmy and Smith waiting for Zane to get home on the bus the first time he tried it. We were all so happy to see him after being gone all day.

 Smith greeted him with a huge hug!

 When we've given him a choice since then to drive him or ride the bus, he's picked the bus. :)

 Zane had one homework assignment so far - he had to pick 5-6 items that represent him or show what he loves and write two sentences about each one.  He picked football gloves to represent football and sports, a signed Charger's card to show that he's a Charger's fan and likes collecting cards, a Flatirons sticker to show our church and that he loves Jesus, his Minecraft book to show reading and that game, a picture of his family, and a Lego.

 These represent the kids pretty well right now. New backpacks are the best!

 After Emmy's first day, Zack picked her up from school and met me for a special pancake lunch.  Happy girl!

 Then, a few mornings later, we let Emmy ride to school with Zane on the bus!  Zane transformed into super big brother mode! He knew it was his responsibility to sit with her, let her sit by the window (haha), walk her all the way to her door and make sure she stayed safe.  He took his job very seriously and Emmy was happy he did.  She felt so big and proud of herself.  These are big milestones of letting go for us!

 They were holding hands all the way up to the door.  I may or may not have asked a friend to spy on them at school... So I know it went well!

 It was a sweet moment as a parent to see them taking care of each other.  I may have even shed one tear.  They are getting so big (and I love it!).

Smith will start one morning a week preschool next week.  We got to meet his teacher and friends and see his classroom.  He's pumped, so pictures of that to come! 

Last Days of Summer

We squeezed in one last day at our local water park.  These guys are too cute.

 Some early morning snuggles with my little man.

 Last day of summer before Zane started school!!

 On Zane's first day of school, the other two kids and I snuck over to a fun park together.  Emmy and Smith were bed buddies.

 Emmy has been so into Little Mermaid lately.  She just wants to sit and listen to the soundtrack over and over (and wear her princess gloves of course.)

 This is Smith and Em playing Rapunzel.  Smith is Flynn Ryder usually, but sometimes Emmy gets him to dress up like a fellow princess.  They've had to bond since Zane's been in school all day.

 Em went to a weeknight birthday parties with some of her friends.  It was at Jump City - she had never been there before and had so much fun.

 Jord and I took Smith and Molly to their LAST gym class last week.  I took all 3 of my kids to My Gym to get some awesome one on one time in and all 3 of them (and Molly) grew so much in the class and got so much out of it. It will always be one of my favorite memories.  So since they stopped offering morning classes that worked for me to take Smith and Molly, we had to cancel our membership.  I felt emotional because it's just another sign that my BABY is growing up!  They loved this place...

 Here'a picture from our fantasy football draft this year.  We let Zane join our league and stay up late to pick his own team.  And he did end up getting a few Charger's players of course. He was in Heaven. :)

Wedding

Our sweet friend Melanie got married last weekend.  We met her in our old youth group, her freshman year.  She asked Zack to marry her and Kyle and she also asked our kids to be in the wedding and ring bearers and the flower girl. 

Emmy was counting down the days and she was really excited.  Zane took his job seriously.  And poor Smith woke up with a fever so we had to keep him on Tylenol to get him through the day.  He was such a trooper, and by the time we got home, the poor baby was SO sick!

Anyway, these three looked so darn cute, I couldn't resist taking a bunch of pictures.  I just think their different poses and expressions are irresistible. 

 Waiting for the wedding was hard work.

 The boys actually waited for their turn in the back without me for a few minutes.  Smith almost bailed out, but Zane somehow kept him in the right spot.  They did so good.  Here's Smith, giving me a thumbs up of course.

 Here they go!

 Emmy felt so special getting to hang with all the big girls (bridesmaids). She even got to spend time with them ahead of time while they got all ready.  She was so cute.

 Then, technology for everyone during the ceremony, since they were the only kids there. I wanted them to be fully entertained so they had nothing to complain about.

 Dancing!

 This is Zane, feeling too embarrassed to dance.  It's sad watching him get that inhibition!

 With the bride and groom.

This dude did not feel well.  He slept on me for most of the reception.  He wouldn't really eat... 

I felt so bad for him, but it was easy for me to sit there and hold him instead of chasing him around everywhere like usual. Haha.