First Day of Kindergarten

(This is our going to be our first day of school tradition.  Great way to

remember all the things that made him so special at that age.)

Yesterday was one the proudest and hardest days of my life as a parent so far.  I cannot believe for a second that our baby boy is old enough to be in kindergarten, going to school all day long.  There was quite a bit of anxiety in the weeks leading up to yesterday morning, with Nicholas asking lots of questions and telling us he was going to be shy and scared of his teacher.  Greg and I just reassured him over and over that all little kids feel the same way on their first day of school and that it would get a little easier every day.  The schools don't usually allow parents to bring their children into the building in the morning, but being the first day they allowed us to bring him all the way to his classroom and stay for a few minutes until he was settled in.  Nicholas held himself together like a real trooper, but the look of fear on his sweet face had my heart breaking into pieces.  Greg and I got him situated at his table and working on his first coloring assignment, and then we slowly started moving towards the back of the room and allowing him to get comfortable.  We only stayed about 10 minutes before we decided it was time to get going and let him test the waters on his own.  There were no tears as we said good-bye and I never looked back for fear of seeing a complete breakdown unfold.  But once we hit the exit door, Mommy's dam finally broke and I was all tears all over the place.  I couldn't stop thinking of him the entire day, wondering what he was doing at that moment.  Had he made any friends yet?  How did lunch go?  Did he have fun at recess?  Did he like his teacher?  But when I picked him up, all of my fears evaporated the second I saw his happy, smiling face walking to my car.  The first words out of his mouth were "I had so much fun today!  I can't wait to go back!"  And as any parent knows, those words were music to my ears.  He had made a few friends, including one little girl who kept telling him she had a crush on him, went to a school assembly in the morning, ate pizza for his first school lunch, got to play games outside during recess, and got to listen to Ms. Crandall read a story during rest time instead of taking a nap.  He was dead set against having to nap at school so he was incredibly satisfied with this option.  So, after a terrifically successful first day of school, we celebrated with Icee's from 7-11.  He even got a big one - no expense spared for this kindergartner! 

Last Hoorah

With Nicholas' first day of kindergarten just around the corner, last week's trip to Branson goes down as our last official summer vacation of 2013.  And with that in mind, we were determined to go out with a bang.  The kids had tons of playtime, we went to see Smurfs 2, spent an afternoon at an indoor water park that replaced our rained out plans for White Water, out for dinner and ice cream, and the highlight of the whole week -- Silver Dollar City!  We had taken Nicholas a few years ago just before his 2nd birthday, but he obviously didn't remember that trip at all.  I was so happy that he was finally big enough to enjoy some real rides instead of the kiddie rides he's always been stuck on in the past.  Our first stop was Thunderation, which I'd classify as an intermediate roller coaster, no loops, but definitely some high speeds and thrilling drops.  I wish I had a video of his exhilarated laughter and the smile plastered to his face because it was absolutely priceless.  We rode that one about 5 times and he was still begging for more as the park was closing.   His other favorite ride was the Flooded Mine, which has an electronic shooting game you can play as you ride along.  The good'uns (good guys) shooting the bad'uns (bad guys) is what he called it, but I'm not sure where that came from.  His least favorite ride was Fire in the Hole, which is a Silver Dollar City classic.  But most of the ride is in the dark which did not make him happy in the least.  As soon as we pulled back in the loading area he said he hated that ride and never wanted to do it again.  I'm told his Daddy had the very same reaction many years ago after his first experience too.  And now we're back home, with out hearts full of happy memories and totally exhausted, preparing for our baby boy to head off to school in a week.  Check back soon for an update!

 
 

 Waiting in line for the Flooded Mine.  He was so patient with
 all of the lines  he had to stand in.  I couldn't believe it. 

In line for Fire in the Hole.  This may be the last time ever. 

 Riding the Tea Cups with Uncle Jeff who is a master spinner!

  Made my stomach hurt just watching them.

 Getting a few lessons with the bow and arrow from Uncle Jeff.  Not a bad shot. 
Oh, and everything is shirt-off these days.  Guess it makes him feel like a man.

 

Soldier

We had high hopes for Aunt Julie and Robi's visit to the lake this weekend with plans for lots of swimming and enjoying the sun, but mother nature had a very different plan in mind.  It was pretty cloudy and on the cooler side for our only full day together, but we made the best of it anyway.  I was also able to squeeze in a few pictures of Nicholas because I haven't really been taking many of him lately.  He had brought all of his military gear with him to the lake so I took my opportunity as he was running around the yard hunting and shooting the enemy.  The hat he's wearing was sent to him the other day by my friend's brother who is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.  He sent Nicholas an awesome little care package full of hats, patches, challenge coins, and pins, which have all been the highlight of his life lately.

 

Pouty face.

Happy face.

You got to have a "getting shot" shot.

The Hawkins' Go To the Lake

Last week was our Hawkins Family trip to the lake house, and boy we could not have asked for a better time!  Between the tubing, swimming, 4 wheeling, and hammock swinging, the kids had the time of their lives.  And the weather turned out to be exceptionally beautiful for July, with temperatures in the mid 80's and cool evenings, which was perfect for sitting around the fire pit after dinner and roasting s'mores.  We loved getting to introduce them all to Lake Eufaula and we hope they had half as much fun as we did! 

 Helping Daddy string new fishing line.  Very important work.

 

 Best shot I had of Jake doing a flip off the dock.  Wish it was better.

This kid is officially the popsicle king.  You could find him

with one in his hand just about every time you turned around.