School Days - 2015

We had an eventful last few days - this past weekend was a busy one with a party at our friends house and then some Michigan visitors on Sunday.  The party was super fun - we got to play with friends (adult and kid) and there was a bounce slip and slide that the kids were loving.  Margot was walking around making friends - she decided she wanted to play catch with one of the other dads there, and kept him occupied for a good 45 minutes.  She would not walk away despite my continued calling her, and the poor guy kept trying to look around her to watch his own kids.  And then later in the night she decided to climb up on another guy's lap as he was watching a show with his own kids and just settle in to cuddle and also watch the show.  What can I say - our girl gets comfortable with people fast.  Needless to say, we were the last to leave and all three went to sleep that night without a peep which was marvelous.

Switch to the next day and we had a visit from the Hugels which was also marvelous.  We haven't seen them in a good three years I think and they worked us in on a trip to visit Katie's sister, also in Chicago.  The kids spent the afternoon getting acquainted while the adults just hung out catching up.  It was really, really nice to see everyone.  We took a few pics before they left.

 Five out of six kids...Margot ran off crying as mid party she crawled up on my lap to watch tv and fell asleep, and wasn't quite sure she wanted to be awakened as they left...

See the puss on her here.  Not quite centered but Lexi did a good job as photographer, especially as Sawyer was screaming, crying on the grass next to her because she wasn't taking the pictures.  Ahh - not exactly one to roll with the punches...

But the main attraction this week was that the girls started back at school.  EVERYONE was excited, and I think there was even a bit of nerves for Sawyer because she kept snapping at me that morning. But we had our act together, backpacks packed up, lunch box full, and we were out the door ahead of schedule to take some pictures.  Margot hopped right up on the wall for hers...sorry Margot - still 2, next year you get your real first day of school picture!

 Here's the big girls - Isla heading to Pre-K4 and Sawyer into 1st grade.  We got a message from Sawyer's teacher that she also had gym class the first day so she was dressed accordingly and did not want to wear the nice outfit I had picked out - hello Mom, i hate that shirt more than any other shirt is what I heard...and those new shorts I begged for are too big still...duh.  Such is life.  I did not argue to the outfit, she looked cute anyway, and we were off.

Here's a singles picture of each.  In my head I intend to create an album for each of them of their first day of school pics and class pictures for high school graduation or something.  We'll see if that happens.  Either way, I love looking back on my older pictures.

And here's Isla.  She's gotten taller so her dress is about to be retired.  She's petite everywhere else so things fit her longer and she doesn't always like to be told that things are too short for her to wear.

And one altogether with Margot... such posers I have.

We all piled into the car and headed off to Sawyer's school.  Because there are no buses most of the parents walk/drive the kids and all go hang out where they line up outside.  When the bell rings each of the teachers lead their class inside.  Feels sort of old school and I like it.

We stuck around for a hug and a wave, saw some other families we knew, but then were off to Isla's school to drop her for the first day of pre-school.  She gave her teacher a hug which was nice b/c she's a very hands-off kid and Margot, Mark and I headed up to the church hall for some donuts with the other parents before heading home.  I worked most of the day but it felt like it went quickly - Isla came home very excited about her day telling us about how they went on a tour of the church and how she liked the stained glass windows the most, how they sang songs and read books, had a snack, etc.  I think she'll have a great year.

Equally, Sawyer came home very excited with hours of things to tell us.  We went through papers, did her homework for today, and heard all about how she got two recesses and a gym class today, and really liked having lunch at school.  Many a time I heard her say over and over, "i'm in first grade, yeah, I'm in first grade".  haha - she's SO excited about it.

While I forgot to write Sawyer a note on a napkin like most attentive parents, I did manage to buy some pre-made cookie dough and bake some cookies for when they got home - a special first day of school treat.  What can I say - took the easy road but I'm not sure they noticed.  Not too long after that Mark, Isla and Margot packed up into the car for a trip to Michigan.  Sadly, Mark's grandfather passed away over the weekend and they are going to the funeral.  Sawyer and I stayed in town so that she doesn't miss her second day of school, and it's allowed me to work a full day because she can do her thing after school for an hour or two.  The girls seem to like to being on their own with one of us, and last night with Sawyer was no exception.  We went out to dinner in town together, and I ended up with her in my bed...which is probably why I did not sleep well.  Such is life - we're both looking forward to Mark, Isla and Margot all getting home tonight as both Sawyer and Isla will be in school tomorrow...

Taking Advantage of the Last Bits of Summer

Since we've been back from vacation we've been trying to enjoy ourselves.  We had friends over the weekend we got home which was nice seeing people we haven't seen in awhile.  The girls were loving staying up late, catching fireflies with friends, and thankfully slept in for us the next day. We were super smart and cleaned the house well before going to bed, so we woke up to a spotless house and had all day Sunday to just play and relax.  Sawyer wasn't feeling like hitting the pool so we divided and conquered with Mark taking Isla and Margot to the pool and Sawyer and I spending some time together.  She had a list of things for us to do - we played Wii, we played Uno, we did a puzzle, we made and ate lunch together, she had an ice cream sundae outside, and just generally hung out for several hours.  At the end of the day when Mark and the girls got home she got frustrated she had to share attention, and told me we never get to spend time together...ha.  no matter how hard i try it's never enough for this girl...

We also went to the race track a few weekends ago.  Arlington Race Track is about a half hour from our house and we had some tickets from work so we figured why not.  While our kids weren't on their best behavior it was a fun day and the grounds were really pretty.  And it turns out our girl Isla has some skills at picking the ponies.  We watched probably five races and she picked the #2 winner in each of those races.  I would read the names out to her and Sawyer and they would each pick the horse they wanted to cheer for.  We never placed any bets - corralling our kids was priority #1 and getting to the betting stations would have been one more challenge.

Margot liked to study the book, but she didn't get into the cheering as much as her sisters.  She did like just watching the ponies as they came out for each race.

And then this weekend, Mark and I decided to ditch the kids altogether.  He and I went kayaking along the Fox River which is not too far west of where we live.  Thought it'd be something different for us to do rather than just a typical date night, and it was really fun, but also quite hard.  We opted for the longest trail - a 6 mile trip down river - and there was not much of a current to propel us forward so we were both pretty sore the next day.

 Here's some pictures I took of Mark - beginning of the trip and looking fresh.  See these great pictures - close up, clear...

And now do you see the far away yellow kayak?  Yes, that's me...hubs apparently doesn't understand the zoom feature.

 We saw lots of great stuff along the river.  Some of the homes were absolutely beautiful.  We also saw some great wildlife - cranes, turtles, and lots of large jumping fish.  We also came upon a family of deer which was pretty random for where they were.  But these three just stood there and stared at us as we stared at them...

We ended up out to dinner and walking around the town, which quickly became one of my favorites in the area because it was so cute, with tons of stores and restaurants, and just a really great place to walk.  Beyond that, our weeks have been rather uneventful.  Mark has been taking the girls to the pool, they went to the movies, and also got some back-to-school hair cuts.  Here is Isla modeling hers.  It's a really cute little bob, and here she has braids in.

 Margie got bangs.  We initially were going to keep growing her bangs out, but she would not do barrettes and we needed to see her eyes.  This picture just makes me laugh so much.  She looks like quite the little girl with this hair cut.

 Perhaps a slightly better picture - here's a view of the whole head.

We also went to Isla's school orientation this week.  I think it made both her and Sawyer excited to go back to school.  One week from today and it all begins...and we couldn't be more excited.  Isla has one more year of preschool due to the cutoffs in Illinois being Sept 1st, and Sawyer is finally going full day now that she's in 1st grade.  It's going to be crazy!

As for the rest of these pics, they are just randoms from our time over the last three weeks.  A favorite is this one of Margot sitting in the living room with Mark and I telling us how mad she is at Isla and Sawyer.

Sawyer and I did some shopping together, but before we went we had to paint fingers and toes, and also do up her hair in some braids.  I'm not as good as her Aunt Alicia but it looked cute and she loved it.

 A picture of Isla hanging out - I just love these blue eyes...

 Margie sitting in the purple chair...

 Playing with trains...