First Day Of School at Longellow

After a super fun summer, the kids went back to school today.

Owen is starting 2nd grade with Mr. Pod,

and Joe is starting Kindergarten in Ms. Mulsoff's class

(though she is on maternity leave and currently has a sub until November).

They were both really excited.  Owen could hardly wait to get to school!  I was trying to take

pictures of them, and he kept wanting to leave so we could get there.  That makes me SO

happy to see him genuinely excited to go to school.  And while I could tell Joe was a little

apprehensive about his first day at a big new school, he was so brave and excited too!

It helps that they have great friends to keep them company.

Plus, having a band chauffeur you to school doesn't hurt either!

We went into Joe's classroom for the first few minutes of school to help him get acquainted,
and as if things weren't exciting enough already, the fire alarm went off after being in the
room for only 10 minutes.  They just added a new wing onto our school,
so I assumed it was the normal growing pains.  Thankfully Joe rolled with it.

I hope the boys have such an amazing day and I can't wait to hear all about it!!
In the meantime, I get some QT with my littlest buddy.  :)

Last Hurrah of Summer

The boys had been begging me to go to Chuck E. Cheese for months, so I promised them

we would go before school started as one last special treat.  I procrastinated as long

as I could until finally here we are...the day before school starts.  

It actually worked out perfectly because they had a deal going on today where the kids

could play unlimited games for as long as they wanted for $15 each!  They were SO

excited!  Normally they're limited by time or the number of credits they have, but this

was truly unlimited and it was the best thing ever!!  We even invited some

friends along to help celebrate the last day of summer.

They jumped from game to game, 

but the big boys ended up spending a lot of their time with one game in particular.  And I

can totally understand why.  They kept winning 100 tickets at a time and collecting these

monster stacks of tickets.  Every 2 minutes, one of the boys would scream out in celebration

because they won another 100 tickets.  The best quote of the day, however, goes to Joe.

He pushed the button, turned away from the game to tell me something and

ended up winning 100 tickets.  He looked back at me and said, 

"Ha! I won 100 tickets...and I wasn't even looking!"  

And guess who was the lucky one who got the job of neatly stacking them so they'd fit

in the small bags they were carrying around?  This girl!  

 It was honestly such a great way to spend the day.  The boys had a blast with their friends

and ending up winning so many tickets they were actually able to pick out some decent

prizes.  Owen had his eye set on the gumball machine.  Joe of course found a puppy stuffed

animal, a small t-rex, and a laser gun.  And Miles rounded out the day with some suckers,

gummy rings, and a laser gun to match Joe's.  All in all, an impressive haul.

Goodbye summer!  We'll miss you!!

Owen's 2nd Grade Open House

Owen had his 2nd grade open house tonight.  He was able to go see his classroom, drop off

is supplies, check out his locker, and chat with his new teacher.  I'm so incredibly excited

about this year.  He has Mr. Pod, who is an amazing teacher!  And he also has a few of his

good friends in his class, which is always more fun.  

What makes me even happier, is how excited he seems.  :)

Hi Daddy!

Ryan was gone for the weekend on a golf trip, so we decided to send him some pictures

to let him know we were thinking about him.

Love you Ryan/Daddy!!

Drew's Graduation Party

Here are some pictures from the Drew's party.  Sarah did such a great job!!  The food was great, she had fun things for people to look at, and the decorations were simple and perfect!

Happy Graduation Drew!!  

We're so proud of you, we love you and hope you have an amazing time in Spain!!