Mixed Emotions

So it's back to school again. I know I say this all the time....but it really is so hard to believe how grown up my kids are getting to be. Gracie was up and at em early. She already had her outfit picked out the night before (the dress and leggings Grandma Jane got her). It's always exciting as a kid to go back to school. And I guess I am looking forward to having some structure back in our lives. But now that Grace is gone all day I can say that I truly do miss having her home. Gracie loves her new 1st grade teacher. She happened to be her read-well teacher from last year.....who she always talked about. And I think it's going to be a good year. She came home and said that she had a great day and received two blue tickets for good behavior (gold in Gracie's world). Elijah keeps asking when it's his turn to go to school. He starts pre-school next week. I am really excited for him to go.....but a little bit petrified at the same time. It should be a very interesting year. I am sure their will be plenty of funny stories to blog about!

It's all about Star Wars

It's hard to believe how fast my babies are growing up. Yesterday we celebrated Elijah's 5th Birthday! And in his little world it's literally all about Star Wars. We didn't end up having a huge kidfest....but opted for a "quiet" little family celebration. We let him pick the dinner option....pizza of course. After checking out a local pizza restaurant we came home to have some "Star Wars" cake. After two bites Elijah was ready to tear into his presents. After all was said and done Elijah seemed pretty happy with his family party. Mainly because he received more Star Wars stuff. Nothing like simple pleasures.

The Highlights

Summer has practically come and gone for us. While it was challenging to be away from daddy for 5 weeks it was precious time spent home in Minnesota. We had so much fun visiting both sets of Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and friends. And the fun still hasn't stopped. After coming home we immediately headed up to Glacier with our amazing German friends that we met in Ohio. We spent four beautiful days with them at a cabin just outside the west side of Glacier. The kids loved cooking out, the campfires with smores, and hiking everyday....(with only a little whining about the 4 mile hikes). Two days after we got back from that trip Uncle John, Aunt Lacey, Cousin Ahna and Uncle Dan and Aunt Tina arrived. So many fun memories were made this week including going to the State Fair, late night game playing, mountain biking, picnics, and another trip to Glacier for a full day of hiking. The kids did even more amazing hiking 7 MILES with literally no complaining. We were so sad to see everyone go home on Sunday. But plenty of fun planned for this week with Vacation Bible School. We know that it's going to be a continued sprint to the beginning of school with so much to do around our house...i.e. the front porch railing and scary looking overgrown bushes....as well as trying to soak up the last little bit of Summer.