K-Boss!

Today was the first day of kindergarten and of course Luke rocked this big transition as he usually does. A little bit nervous but not anxious. A tad excited but acting pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. Such a little dude!

I tried to get some pictures of him but this was pretty hard to do. It was dark in our house because it was so early and using the flash with Luke gives you icky pics. So, here is the best shoot of him:

Luke navigated carpool like a pro and jumped out and went right into school. I don't think he even looked back (sniff, sniff). It really is strange to watch your baby become responsible for himself. To watch him grab his book bag, lunch box, and head off into school. The child who seems incapable of completing a simple task without numerous reminders is now going off into the world. It really is surreal. (Side note: I hadn't prepped Maddie for the strange woman who would help Luke out of the car and sweep him away. She freaked out. Not good!!)

Maddie and I then parked the car and brought Luke's supplies to his classroom. He was already in his seat and coloring when we arrived. We dropped off his supplies and Maddie got to tell Luke a proper good-bye, which made her very happy. There was a little girl at Luke's table who was really upset about her mom leaving. Crying and screaming...the whole bit. Luke looked a tad concerned and before he could get upset, Maddie and I quickly left the room. When we got to the hallway Maddie said, "She freakin me out!" Funny, I was feeling the same way.

At the end of the day, Maddie and I picked up Luke and then we went to Dairy Queen to celebrate the first day of school. I made him tell me all the details about his day. I wanted the play-by-play but I think I only got the highlight reel (why must boys frustrate their mommies with a lack of detail?). I asked if he had any "friend prospects" and he said he had one. That dude is so friendly I'm sure they'll be best buds soon :)

As for me, how am I doing now that my firstborn is in Kindergarten? I haven't had time to process. There has been no time to stop, get lost in my thoughts, and really evaluate what I'm feeling. The day has been packed with getting kiddos out the door, carpool, Maddie telling me she had to go pee while we were driving on the highway, back-to-back meetings at work, carpool, ice cream, pool time, dinner, baths, and now blogging to document this milestone. It has been a full, full day.

I think God may have planned it this way. He knows how I'm wired and I think he was being very gracious to me by keeping me busy today...

My baby is growing up...sniff, sniff...

Excited and a Little Nervous

There are only three more morning commutes to Buchkead Church left with Luke.
The six years have flown by.
I asked Luke if he was excited about going to kindergarten.

He said he was excited and a little nervous.
Yeah, me too!

GNO - Girls Night Out

With the boys out seeing Captain America, Maddie and I were footloose and fancy free on a Friday night. Woo-hoo! What can two wild and crazy girls do in Atlanta on a Friday night? Go paint pottery, of course!!

I decided I wouldn't paint my own piece but focus on teaching Maddie how to paint the pottery. There were so many fun pottery options to choose from and I successfully steered Maddie towards choosing a plate. I know that isn't the most exciting choice; however, the plate seemed like it would be the easiest thing for her to paint. We painted the plate pink and lets face it that's the most important thing as far as Maddie is concerned!

I made the design in the middle with a stencil (it'll be dark purple after it is fired) while Maddie "wrote" her name on the table. Then we made poke-in-dots as Maddie says. She got a bit crazy so I did a little clean up and we tried again.

Much better :)

Maddie tried her hand at working with a stencil.

The back of the plate.

As we drove home Maddie said, "I paint good. I paint great. I paint awesome!" Girl has some self confidence! Love it!

We stopped and got a special treat at Bruster's and then it was home to watch "Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit." My girl's night out activities sure have changed over the years and I'm more than okay with that!!

Synchronized Inner Tubes

Here is what we do for fun on the weekends....

I hope that didn't make you dizzy :)

Building Sand Castles

Our last day at the beach, the ocean was pretty full of seaweed. Icky! So, we built some castles.

Maddie loves when we all play together. Look at that smile!

Luke was a big helper!

Maddie's job was to fill the bucket of water to fill up our moat.

She was very on task!

Of course, Luke had to do some on the job "coaching".

Ta-da! Our own little castle by the sea :)

Luke at the Beach

Luke loves the ocean. He likes the sand too, but he adores water. He spends almost all of his time in the water playing in the waves.

He goes out to meet the wave.

As the wave approaches, he starts running back to the shore.

The wave crashes into him and knocks him down.

And he starts to float away with the undertow.

I'm not going to lie, this would scare me at times.

Here is a conversation Luke and I had at dinner:

ME: So, how was Day 2 at the beach, Luke?
LUKE: Good, but not great.
ME: How come?
LUKE: I got knocked around pretty good out there.

This little dude makes me laugh! I love how his mind works!

Heavenly!

Summer for me is about spending time with the fam in the sun by the pool or better yet...

with my feet in the sand by the ocean. Ahh!!