We have been talking about Kindergarten for a long time so it isn’t like I am springing something on Jackson. Jackson has been excited and ready but those jitters have set in for all of us over the past couple of weeks! Last week we had a meet the teacher day on Thursday so Wednesday morning I decided it might be fun helpful for Jackson if we walked to the school and then played at the park.  Just to get a little more comfortable a before the big day.   My enthusiastic voice didn’t do the trick and he was instantly resistant to the idea. I motivated him out the door with a granola bar and capri run for a snack picnic at the park. We made it a little ways down the road and he began to beg to get into the stroller. Now this is the boy that if in the rare event that I would request he get in the stroller would have had a huge fit. But I could tell it was because this whole march to school was too much for him or at least for a moment he didn’t want to have to be the big kid. So instead of insisting that he is far too big I asked his brother to hop out. Owen was in shock at my request and sprung from the stroller not even missing a beat and thrilled that I had temporarily lost my mind and set him free while taking Jackson captive.

so I walked on with my big one squished into the stroller and my little one running ahead

when Jackson was ready he hopped out. And at that point he didn’t want to walk next to me, gripping my hand and complaining about “the long walk to the school.. my legs just can’t take another step or I might die… I need a drink it’s so hot….”. When he hopped out he was ready to lead us to his school.

On the way back from the school we chatted about what his teacher and friends might be like and stopped at the park to play. He met another little kindergartener and they exchanged all of their vast knowledge of Kindergarten with one another. Turns out the little boy just moved in about a month ago. His mom is French and his dad is Spanish and his nanny who was with him at the park was from Bogota, Colombia! So this little boy was just as out of sorts as Jackson.

It’s a big week for our boy and the zillions of other kids starting school again! It’s tough to let them go. But so fun to see when they decide they are ready and want to lead! Our prayer for this school year is that Jackson would be a kind and loving  boy and that he would be a light in his classroom. And also a selfish one, that he doesn’t forget about us at home!

And three cheers for Owen who is about to begin this new season of life that involves being an only child during school hours! See above picture for documentation. To Jackson’s credit Owen was begging and whining for Jackson to push him and this is the reaction Owen had when he got what he wanted…all this to say, Owen is about to have some enlightening days of being the top dog. And I don’t think he will complain about it…although he will miss his buddy.

Here are a few pictures from our last week of summer!

summer legs….resulting in another black bath!

basil is always better from a friends garden!

not one bit tired!

cousins

hold on tight, James!

dance party

It was a really fun way to wrap up our summer with playdates and pool time and a family movie night and garage sale shopping and hanging a bazillion things around the house (more on that to come!)!

This is the last week of summer up in this neck of the woods. On a normal year it might feel like a late start but this year I am so thankful for the extra time to settle into a new normal before starting another big thing.

Most summers I have a list of must do’s. Fun stuff like hike here or have dinner there. This summer was more survival mode with summer fun thrown into the mix.  I can say now that we have made it to the last week and we have survived the move, unpacking and most of our settling in and have had lots of fun throughout.

Owen…after fighting his crocs every day of summer just yesterday mastered them the first time with no help. He typically engages in a little croc routine that includes: “I do by myself”, wrestle with croc, get upset and cry,  get upset when help is offered, try again, yell for help. But yesterday he managed to get it all coordinated with the back strap and getting his foot in and his pride was  evident. This is summer learning folks!  Owen has also taken on singing and has learned to sing along with the alphabet, “Where is thumbkin?”, Monkey’s on the bed and Jingle Bells. yes, jingle bells. The boy brings Christmas in the summer. He had 4 straight days last week of normal sleeping the mornings but he is back to his cooky 5 AM mornings.

Jackson…Has spent lots of time cultivating an enjoyment for writing and coloring. These are things in the past that he has less interest in but over the past few months he has been enjoying his “work” as he calls it. Jackson has loved going to the pool most days and has been making up for lost time from the past 2 summers. He had a crash course in swimming again last week for 4 days and has taken off in the past weeks.   We recently discovered the show Wild Kratts on PBS and he is learning so fast I am a bit scared of what kindergarten will bring. I might have to study up!

Seth….learned to be a professional painter, semiprofessional electrician and an amateur lawnmower this summer (kidding on the amateur…3 times of mowing and he’s a pro).  He has broken his back to spruce this place up. And it is MUCH improved. Seth is currently being trained for his new job and is looking forward to the pace picking up a bit.

As for me, I have hopefully finished this packing and unpacking business for a while. We have gotten good at it I guess but I don’t love it. The house still needs lots of little projects and decorating done so I am trying to not rush anything and hope to enjoy some of the process in the Fall. I am looking forward to starting Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs) and Community Bible Study with Owen and can’t wait to meet some more local moms. I have been dragging myself to the Y for the last few weeks. Tonight I am attempting Zumba. All I can think about as I type this is when I got into show choir in high school my teacher said I made it only based on my singing and sight reading…not the dancing!   I will either leave laughing or crying!!

I am working on some posts for next week on back to school! I get about a paragraph in and my excitement turns to terror of sending Jackson to school…so I step away and come back when I am excited again! More coming on back to school!  In the meantime I am dragging my feet and eeeetching out every last inch of summer.

Here are a couple of cute summer shots with friends!

and a bath with black water wasn’t on our summer to do list but here you have it! Fun on the farm and ice cream cones equals very dirty kids!

Weekend before last we headed to VA beach/Norfolk area for a friends wedding. We managed to squeeze in a little beach time which I am sure you can imagine the boys just hated. Actually they loved it and wanted to stay all day! When we started the morning the rain clouds were building but they soon passed and gave way to a sunny morning. We spent the morning at the beach, headed to downtown Norfolk for a super yummy brunch and then headed back to rest up before the wedding.

We had brunch at a super fun local place called No Frill Grill. The locals were swarming in which is always a good sign. I ordered shrimp and grits which I have always wanted to order but wasn’t brave enough to do. They were amazing and we will for sure be attempting them at home.  If you are ever in the area and decide to try it be aware that the kids portions are HUGE!! Delicious but huge.

The wedding was held at The Hermitage Museum and Gardens. It was such a pretty location along the water with huge magnolia trees. It was the first wedding the boys attended and all in all they did great. My friend Kelly is an interior designer and did the decorating herself. She had lots of personal touches. The bridemaids wore gold glitter dresses which was so Kelly! On arrival we were given iced tea and pink lemonade to beat the heat. I am pretty sure based on the 10 cups Owen drank that the highlight of the night was for sure the pink lemonade. I loved the bikes at the entrance of the ceremony. We missed when they left the wedding because we had to get the boys to bed but I hear that they rode off on their bikes!

Fun times! Congratulations Kelly and Jonathan!