We're Back

We had a wonderful time on our vacation. We are all tired, our bodies are time-zone confused, and there is a pile of laundry to be done after we unpack. There are pictures to post and stories to be told. But one of the things we are most excited about is that today we start back to school for the year! Our two week start of summer break has ended. I wish I had a scribe to record Bethany's joy when I told her Gramma that we would start back to school today. Yahoo was the word, if I recall correctly. Daniel, being more conservative in his feelings, watched quietly as sister cornered the market on enthusiasm.

I thought it would be fun to do a little bit of back to school shopping for the kids to help things along, so last night I made a fun dash to Target and gathered all the makings for a Back to School bag for the children. Each bag included: a new pair of shoes, a composition notebook, a new mechanical pencil with a refill, a new pair of scissors, a new pencil sharpener for the days the mechanical pencil is out of lead, True To Life Twistable Crayons, a glue stick, and a pack of Pink Bubblegum. Just had to throw that in there! Last but not least was a Welcome Back to School note from Danny who is flying today. So, here are the pictures of the kids on their first day of school for this new year.



What I have learned and observed today so far: Kids love new things. Some children will cry if the loop is too big on their first pair of tie-shoes (re-enter time-zone confused body complete with emotions!). Discipline still happens even on the first day of school. Pancakes smooth the rough spots, and learning that the favorite part of Daniel's Back To School Bag was "the love" that was in it. I'm ready to start the day now!