Back to School!

It's back to school again already, I can't believe it! This summer just went by way too fast. I have mixed feelings about my kids going back to school. On one hand, it's nice to have a little more peace and quiet, but on the other hand I am paranoid and really do miss my kids. We packed up everyone's back packs the night before and Chase gave each of the school aged kids a blessing. This morning was way hard to wake up, especially with a summer full of very late nights. We ate puffed pancakes and drank Nesquick for a yummy send off breakfast and then took pictures.

Bailey is a big 6th grader now and out of all the kids, she was the most nervous. But thanks to a Father's blessing the night before, she told me she was feeling much better. Addie is going into 4th grade and will be in the same school as Bailey which will be nice for them to be together, well not according to Bailey, but I think it's nice. Cameron is going into 2nd grade and is still in the elementary school and will have Emery there also attending as a pre-schooler. Our new school district has all the schools right next to each other, it's kind of different but nice. When we had back to school night, I had a hard time finding a parking place, but all I had to do was walk from one school to the next and didn't have to worry about reparking the car. There are 4 schools...elementary, intermediate, junior high, and high school. The schools are smaller and the class sizes are smaller, so I'm hoping for a good year for the kids. What I'm really excited about though is that the kids will get to stay in the same school the entire year! Last year they attended 3 different schools, not fun for any kid to have to do.

Now, I would be lying if I didn't confess that I'm kind of excited about Emery going to school, more so than any of my previous children. Emery is a sweet kid, but this last year has been kind of rough and I know she's had some excess handicaps with living and moving everywhere with Chase's layoff, so I'm trying to cut her some slack. I think preschool will be very good for her and will offer me a nice break. It will be just me and Joelle for half the day, and Chase when he's home. Out of the 4 kids though, I'm most nervous about Emery. It wasn't until about 3-4 wks ago that Emery willingly went to the potty on her own consistently. She's been doing very well, but has occasional issues. I'm just praying she doesn't wait too long to go to the bathroom and then doesn't yell for the teacher to come help her wipe her hiney or pull up her underwear. I must have repeated to her over and over again until the bus came...."Now, Emery...who wipes your bum?"...answer Emery: "Me"... "Emery, who pulls up your pants?"...answer Emery: "Me". Then I went over all the different situations where she might be tempted to wait to go potty and try to hold it when she shouldn't. It's almost 2:00 now and I haven't gotten a phone call yet. I pray she is also behaving herself. She is an extremely stubborn child with attitude and I just want her to be good for her teachers and not cause any problems. The only other problem today that I didn't foresee is Joelle. She has been fussy and clingy ever since Emery left. She won't let me do anything, even when I got her to fall asleep in my lap, she'd wake up and cry when I tried to put her down. I think she misses the kids and doesn't know what to do without them. Well, here's hoping for a good year without too many issues.

Bailey ready for 6th grade!
Addie all dressed up and ready to go, they picked out their outfits the night before.

Handsome Cam all excited for school. He was most nervous about not finding a bathroom.

Heading out the door, it was still dark outside.
Going down the driveway.
Watching for the bus... we waited a long time. The first day is always unpredictable, we could've gotten a little extra sleep.
Silly kids waiting for the bus still.
Here the sun is finally starting to come up. I went down the driveway a bit as to not embarrass them...well not too much that is. I'm sure that's how every kid wants to start their first day...with their mom snapping pictures in her pajamas of them getting on the bus. They kept telling me to hide behind the bush....ha ha, but I didn't :) What else is a mom for if not to embarrass her kids once in a while. I really wanted that first day of school bus shot, thank you very much :) But seriously, they were ok, I don't think anyone was permanently scarred. I was wearing a t-shirt and capri type lounge pants...it's not like I was out in a nighty, slippers, and a robe. Besides, they were joking about me jumping out from behind the bushes with the camera when the bus pulled up. I think they secretly love it :) I won't follow them out there tomorrow.Kids getting on the bus finally.
Emery showing off her Dora back pack. Now, I don't like Dora...it's not a secret, but I got this back pack for only $4.00 at Goodwill and it was in excellent condition and much cheaper and better quality than what I paid for at Walmart. So, I took all the back packs I bought from Walmart back and returned them for about $40.00 back on my card. I found the other kids back packs for $4.00 each there also, and I was amazed at how much better quality they were than the ones for full price at Walmart. I love Goodwill, sometimes you have to hunt for good stuff, but sometimes like this time... I scored big time, only $12.00 for 3 really nice back packs! Cam still had his new back pack from last year.
Emery, ready for school!
My cute, big pre-schooler!
Heading out the door.
Down the driveway accompanied by Joelle and Zeke...Joelle is always up for an adventure.
Emery waiting for the bus and getting concerned about Zeke going into the fields and getting bit by a snake.
Emery trying to get Zeke to get back in his yard.
Still concerned about Zeke and snakes...this time Zeke was sniffing in a drainage hole. I told her he was fine if he wasn't barking. I've only heard him bark at snakes, snake skins, or another dog.
Emery's bus coming.
Emery hopping on the bus. I was very surprised that she had no issues with this and hopped right on without even a look back.