Back to School

We had a fantastic summer this year, but I was a little bit excited to send the kids back to school. I think they were ready too. Both Makayla and Caden started school at Elk Meadows Elementary this year. 

Makayla is in 1st grade this year, which means she goes to school all day and gets to eat school lunch.

Makayla's has two teachers this year: Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Knackstedt. Her favorite subject is reading, and at 6 years old she wants to be a mom when she grows up. 

 Makayla is in the same class as Haylie again this year. They were excited to walk in together.

And with that she was off. I was never really that sad when Makayla went to preschool or even when she went to Kindergarten last year. She was just so excited and ready for it. But 1st grade has been harder for me (yes, it is all about me).  I think it's because you realize they have been with you for their whole life, and now they are going to be gone every single day for six hours... six hours, that's a long time! I was so ready to pick her up the first day and hear all about it. 

Makayla said she loved school and she told me they got three recesses. She said she liked eating school lunch and she likes her teachers. She said she made a new friend, Oakley. I can't wait to see her blossom this year. 

 Then about a week later this handsome boy started Kindergarten. Can you believe it? My little Buddy is already in Kindergarten!

Caden's teacher is Ms. Comte and his favorite subject is math. At five years old Caden wants to be a super hero when he grows up. And if you don't think he is the most handsome boy you have ever seen, you need to get your eyes checked!

 I thought for sure Caden would have a hard time with school because he seemed a little nervous whenever we would talk about it, but the first day I walked him up there, he got to play on the playground for a little bit, and then the bell rang, he lined up, and just that that he was gone.

But just a few short hours later I got to pick him up again, and he had a great first day! He said they got to color a picture and his teacher read them a really funny story. I'm so excited for my Little Buddy!

 So what do me and Brynn do now that the big kids are in school? Well go shopping and take a lot of selfies!

After a few hours of running errands with me, Brynn is ready to play with Caden, and then a few hours after that they are both ready to play with Makayla. 

Yea for back to school time!

A Once in a Lifetime Birthday with an Eclipse

I got to have an extra special birthday this year because not only did we get to celebrate the whole day at Lagoon, but it was also a once in a lifetime total eclipse. 

We got to Lagoon as soon as they opened. We knew we could ride a few rides before we had to watch the eclipse at 11:30. I think Brynn's face here adequately depicts the excitement we all felt. 

 Our first ride was the Terror ride AKA Witchy Poo (because of the witch that peeks her head out the window). This ride has been open for 50 years now, so it was pretty popular. This was the longest ride we waited in line for the whole day. We made Brynnli go on it with us, but she told us that she didn't like "dat witchy poo ride, cuz it was scary."

Then at 11:30 for a whole 2 minutes we got to watch the moon completely cover (well 90%) the sun. It was kind of an eerie and ominous feeling because it seemed like it should have been 8:00 at night, but it was in the middle of the day. We were lucky enough to score some eclipse glasses from Karly so we could look at the sun safely. 

 Tyler made this contraption before we knew we had glasses. This is what the sun looked like.

And this is what the sun looked like through the glasses. 

And this is a picture I copied off the internet. It was obviously photo shopped, but I thought it looked pretty cool. 

Another picture I copied off the internet. 

My favorite part was looking at everyone staring at the sun with their glasses on. 

 After that amazing 2 minutes, we hopped on the train.

 And then went on every single ride.

This was probably the best day to go to Lagoon. I think because of the eclipse and some schools had started, there were hardly any people at Lagoon. I asked a worker and she said usually they expect about 18,000 on a Monday, but there were only 2,000 people there. We were so lucky because we never had to wait in line. We pretty much just ran from one ride to the next. 

We made Brynnli go on some of the big kid rides like the tidal wave and the Lady Bug Drop, but even weeks later she still talks about how she wants to go to Lagoon, "but not on da scary rides like da boat and da lagy bug."

 Brynn preferred these rides. I think she went on this ride at least three times in a row.

 Makayla, on the other hand has no fear. She loved going on every single big kid ride. She even went on Cannibal three times! I was scared to death on that ride, but she loved it.

 Of course we had to hit Bulgy the Whale.

By the end of the night we were exhausted. What a great way to spend my birthday. 34 is going to be a great year, I can just feel it!

The End of Summer Soccer

I can't believe summer soccer has come to an end! Makayla and Caden had such a great season this year and we couldn't be prouder of our two cuties. Tyler really liked coaching his kids (maybe not so much the other kids), and he really taught them to love the game. 

 Tyler was seriously the best coach. He made sure the kids had fun, but he still taught them new skills and to try to be a good sport. I loved watching him at the beginning of each game when he would sit down with the kids and talk to them.

We were so proud of both of our kids. Caden struggled a little bit this season because he was moved to the older division with bigger kids. He struggled because he wasn't the best player, he had a harder time scoring goals, and his team didn't win every game. We would usually have to have a conversation with him while he was crying and trying to remind him that the most important thing was that he tried his best and had fun. Even if he didn't see it, Caden did so well this season and really improved. He scored a few goals, learned to assist, and really understood how to play defense. We are so proud of him!

Makayla did exceptionally well for her first season. She would get nervous before the games and would get super ornery and whiny. We would get so frustrated with her until we realized that was just her way of dealing with her nerves. Tyler was able to relate to her and calmed her down each week. But once she got out on the field, she really did so well. One thing is for sure, Makayla is a fast runner and super athletic. She really got in the game and did so well at defense. She even scored a few goals! We are so proud of her!

Each of the kids got a medal

But only Caden got a kiss.