Back to School

I can't believe summer is over and school has begun. It started a little late this year because Labor Day ended up later than usual. We always start school the Wednesday after Labor Day. This year was a big year for us, Kim started 2nd grade and our baby Ladybug started Kindergarten.

They were so excited for school that they packed their backpacks a week before school started. They had their outfit picked out 3 days before. Hadley set out outfits for the whole week on Monday (Labor Day). The girls are getting so big.

This year Kim had Mrs. Paveglio as a teacher. She really enjoys school so far (it has only been 3 days) Kim knows so many of the adults at school it is quite humorous. The first day all she did was say "Hi" to all of the staff. She enjoyed seeing her friends again but mostly the adults. She has already had homework! She got it the first day!

Hadley has Mrs. Bacon as her Kindergarten teacher. She is in the AM class so she walks to school with Kim and Dave. Hadley is adjusting really well to school. The other day she mentioned something to do with her folder that she had to take back and I gave her the strangest look. It hadn't really set in that she was in school. Which by the way is really difficult to get used to.

The first day I cried when Hadley had to go to class. She started crying then Mr. Howard (the Principle) had to come and get her because I was having such a hard time with it. (Mr. Howard is sticking his head in the classroom after sending Hadley in to make sure she was okay.) My baby started school. Sniff Sniff, they had tissues for all the parents who were cry babies like myself. Dave of course was very nonchalant about the whole thing. He didn't get why I was crying.

Hadley made it through her first day! She loved it and talks of nothing else.

It was really different this year verses Kim's Kindergarten year, because with Kim it was a new experience for her and me both. It was nostalgic because she was the oldest, but this time it was sad because I realized that we were done with kids at home during the day. The nap times, diapers, preschool, learning how to walk, talk, and play are all memories now. But now we have friends, after school activities, homework, summer time, teachers and most of all learning. I love to watch the girls learn to read.

After school we went hiking up to Angel's Rest by Multnomah Falls. It was a 5 mile hike round trip and the elevation change was pretty dramatic. The girls made it all the way to the top with only minimal whining. They did really well.

We had some great views.

Dave pointed out about where we live.

We had some fun snacks.

We found a great rock that looks like "Pride Rock" from Disney's the Lion King. Kim is our lion in this picture. It was really neat how the rock just landed almost level like a table.

The girls decided to take a little nap before heading back down. We had a great time but were really tired by the time we got back home.