Smart as a whip

As the summer came to a close the kids were all super excited to return to school and see their friends and find out who their teachers were going to be. This is the first summer that I honestly can say I was not ready for them to all go back. With Mark's death life seemed to take on new meaning and we filled our summer to the brim with fun family activities. We were seriously gone every other weekend all summer. I am ready to stop all the laundry madness and the unpacking and packing but really I feel like we made the most of our summer together.

This year promises to be as crazy as ever. We have kids at three different school (four if you count preschool). I'm PTA Vice Pres again at the elementary school and when you throw in a hearty dose of church service opportunities and sports it makes for some crazy days.

First out the door in the early morning is Alex and Tyler. They get to ride the bus together. Alex is in 8th grade at the Junior High and Tyler is in 5th grade at the Middle School. Next to leave is Nate and Alysee. Nate is in 2nd grade and Alysee is in 4th grade. Alysee is doing safety patrol some mornings and is super excited about that extra social hour...I mean civic responsibility. Then after lunch Coop heads to afternoon kindergarten. This year our school district lost 2.5 million dollars. One of the things cut was free all-day kinder -- you now have to pay $280/month is you want all-day kinder. I've got all sorts of stuff to say about this -- but in the end Coop is doing half day and loving it. We spend the mornings at the library, parks, playdates, storytimes, once-a-week gymnastics lessons, and running errands. He is always so excited to eat lunch and then run off to school.
Chloe is doing a once-a-week mom's co-op preschool this year. She asks like five times every day if today is a preschool day. Life's pretty darn sweet when you are three and get to hang out with your girlfriends all the time. It won't be my turn to be teacher until January so I'm looking forward to a quite afternoon once-a-week (I've only waited 13 years for this). She is always enjoying a gymnastics class with Coopy.

Such smartie pants we are raising!!!