Riley's first day of preschool

Riley's first day of school was a rollercoaster! He woke up excited--he'd been waiting to start his own school after watching brother go to Kindergarten. 

We dropped James off and drove around aimlessly, killing time before his school started (they were an hour apart--later on we just went home between drop off on his school days).

It was about that time that the nerves started to set in. He looked a little less excited and a little more scared.

We pulled in to the school parking lot, realized I forgot to take a picture at home, got one by the car and headed in.

We found his classroom, he dug into the puzzles on the table.

I took a bunch more pictures, signed him in, gave him a good-bye hug and then full blown panic set in. Tears, screaming, the works.

He'd done so well at his last school, but this was new school and new kids and new teachers he'd never met before. 

Eventually he calmed down and I waited out in the hallway a minute to make sure he was alright. I reluctantly went home and started researching homeschooling.

Poppy came home and took his leap pad.

After I picked everybody up (from a very successful day of school) we got froyo as a treat.

Nap time worked out pretty well, too.

This post has been sitting in my drafts for nearly a year. 

We've been busy.

First day of Kindergarten

It's here.
School.
Kindergarten.
My big boy got up half-excited, half-nervous-wreck.
He went through his morning routine chart I made him, squinty-eyed and sleepy. While I scrambled eggs, he brushed his teeth, got dressed, made his bed.
He ate more than I thought he would--all of his eggs, half of the blueberry muffin.
He told me he was nervous.
I pulled the lunchbox out of the fridge and put it by the door with his backpack.
He put on his socks and shoes.
He tucked OE the otter up under his arm and submitted to my photo requests.
Jason recorded a short, pep talk video on his leappad and left it out for him to watch.
He watched all 8 seconds over and over while I got the other two and myself ready.
It was time to go.
He was ready.

We live probably less than 10 minutes total from the school. We sat in the car-rider line for over half an hour. All of us who took the correct route ended up waiting forever for the parents who were in a hurry and played dumb, going through the roads they weren't supposed to turn on or drive down during school drop off/pick up hours. There was one crazy lady who came up out of a subdivision over there who cut in front of the car in front of me, flew through the 4-way stop and literally RAN INTO the crossing guard! Like ran the side of her giant van into him and RAN OVER his foot! He was trying to yell at her to slow down or maybe not run over him but she ignored him and just flew through there. It was bananas!!
As we got closer to the school (and further from the crazies), James started getting panicky again. He said (for probably the 20th time this morning) "I'm really nervous, Mommy". Riley, being the supportive brother that he is piped in and told James, "If you get nervous just talk to God." Wise words, Riley.
They had us park out in the field to walk our babies in for their first day. So when we finally made it to his classroom, it was 5 minutes after start time.

His teacher was talking to another mom when we went in and hung up his backpack about how crazy it is the first few days each year and that it'll settle down in the car rider line (sure hope there's no more hit-and-runs!). She saw the anxious looks on both our faces and was very reassuring. She welcomed James in and showed him his desk. He sat next to another little boy who I could tell would make a good friend for him. I gave him a goodbye hug (or three) and left the room.

The house was too quiet and I was ready to go pick him up 2 hours later.

And that's with two children still in it! 

After a very productive day for me and the younger two, we went to pick him up (much earlier so we wouldn't have the same car rider line drama on the way out!). The first thing he said when I was getting him in the car was, "It was GREAT! I want to stay here!! I don't want to go home!"

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and told him how much I missed him all day.

He told me that the little boy sitting next to him likes Lego: Legends of Chima, too and they're friends now.

He got to be line leader on his very first day!

Some other kids cut in front of him while he was line leader and they got in trouble.

Those kids do not like banana danimals yogurt and said it's disgusting.

Banana danimals is not disgusting, it's good!

Clearly it was a full day!

So proud of my big kindergartner.

Weekend getaway

Jason's Astronomy assignment, the end (kind of) of his grueling July hours, and the last weekend before school starts prompted a mini-vacation.
After staying up late cleaning, packing a suitcase, snacks, and pool floaties, we got up early Saturday morning to head to Jacksonville. Starbucks-fueled.
Our first stop was Cracker Barrel for pancakes. Poppy stole the lemon off my water and made a variety of hilarious faces...

Another hour drive and we made it to the zoo!

Zoo train

James saw this tiny little marmoset and kept going on about how cute the tiny monkey was.

The animals were as tired and hot as we were. These monkeys were hiding out in a shady corner like sleepy teenagers. They wouldn't even look at us!

James found his spirit animal: the otter. He was so proud! He said, "It looks just like OE!" (his stuffed otter)

Afterward we headed to the MOSH museum. Jason took the boys to a star show in the planetarium (for one of the papers he's writing). Poppy and I explored the museum. There was a really cool dinosaur exhibit with video games and computers. The giant dinosaur skull replicas totally freaked her out though. She'd take one look and run away as fast as her little legs took her!

After the show, the boys wanted in on the video games too!

We found our hotel (eventually), had a lot of drama (they booked us into a single bed room, charged us for a roll-away bed, blegh), and spent a little time in the pool. The kids loved it.
After we pruned, we headed to find the beach and dinner. First stop--Eastwinds!

Even if it's not the little beachside motel with the pool and patio-faucet anymore, its still nostalgic to see the name written on a sign. Like a grave marker. Happy to bring back the memories, to know that buried under the giant condo building its in there somewhere. The beach is still there. Its the same beach I dug holes in, found a crazy looking dead fish with teeth on, made sand sculptures with my cousins on. It's the same foamy water that Grandaddy hovered me over, dipped my toes in, when I was as little as Poppy is now. Time stands still.

Our good ol' Dairy Queen is still there, too. I remember being little, out on one of those umbrella-covered tables outside our motel room and hearing all the grown-ups talking about going to get blizzards. I thought (and probably said out loud) "it's going to snow in Florida??!"
We stopped there for dinner (ice cream).
James was so tired (he was the only one who hadn't had a cat-nap in the car), he was about to fall asleep in his dip-cone.

We were all wiped out. We folded out the roll-away bed and the crib and tried to figure out sleeping arrangements.

And discovered the fun of jumping on hotel beds.

And turned Poppy's crib into a ride. There was so much stomping and giggling going on, I'm pretty sure we annoyed the hotel enough to make up for the hassle.

In the morning we snagged some breakfast downstairs and headed out to the pool before checkout.

When we checked out, the hotel lady was super rude and put a huge damper on things. I had a fruitless call with Priceline about our experience. So Jason got me some Starbucks to chill out.
We got to the beach parking lot next to Eastwinds (I had really really wanted to spend some time on my old stomping grounds and it just wouldn't have been the same if we had to go to a different spot) and it was filled up. I prayed for a break, for peace with all the hotel drama, that we could get to that spot on the beach. And sure enough, at the end of that lot two brake lights lit up right ahead of us. We got the spot!!

That's Eastwinds Condominums right behind my sand-baby.

The boys were braver than they've ever been in the water. They kept asking to go out, deeper and deeper. They jumped through waves, put their faces in it, let it wash over their heads. Riley wanted me to hold his arms so he wouldn't float away while he jumped.

Poppy was (as usual) brave herself. She kept running toward the water, heading out to the deeper waters with her brothers. No sitting in the shallow end for this girl. She's a water baby.

We had an amazing weekend together. It was so wonderful to get to spend time with each other, a change of scenery, try new things, remember old things. It was the perfect way to end summer vacation.