Charlotte and Reilly

Reilly is very excited to have her good friend Charlotte at her school. They aren't in the same class, but they are next door to each other. So often Reilly likes to stop to say hi to her after school. Here is a picture of them together in matching uniforms!

After School Adventures

I've changed my schedule at work so I can pick up the kids in the afternoon. This means I leave the house before 6am...and then I pick the kids up at 3pm. Its great to be able to do this. But it does mean that I need to have some *skills* I haven't had in the past. Just how do you keep the kids busy without being cranky for several hours in the afternoon? And how do you keep mom from being cranky??

On the second day of school I discovered a very good way to meet those objectives. I stopped at Starbucks!! The girls got a nice treat and so did Mom :-)

First Day of School

The kids started school last week. Reilly started Kindergarten and Brooke started Preschool. They have both been in school since they were babies, at the same place, so I was not intending for this to be that "Oh my gosh!" moment. But at back to school day, I found that it was one of those moments for me. I think it was a combination of the new school and the thought of Kindergarten, but I certainly had to catch myself so I wouldn't cry!!!

We are now a week in and both kids love school! They are still adjusting, but they love it. For Reilly the biggest adjustment comes from the fact that she is the only kid in her class that did not do Pre-K at that school last year. So there are a lot of existing friendships, which makes it hard. She had a GREAT group of friends for the past few years at her old school and she misses them a lot. Luckily she still sees some of them at Sunday School...and we are scheduling playmates with the others. She will adjust, I know this - but it weighs on me and Mike...will she make friends?

For Brooke the adjustment is more about the schedule. She has been moved to no nap. She doesn't make it all days. Often she falls asleep in class. One day I came in and she was passed out on the floor. She also has been having potty accidents. But this too will adjust :-)

Here are a few pictures!

Reilly's Swim Team

Reilly did swim team last year with the Minnows - but this was her first summer as a Shark. The difference is that as Sharks they have swim meets. It was very enjoyable to watch her start to get the idea of competition. The first 2-3 meets she really didn't get it. She got to the end of the race, they handed her a ribbon. Her friends all wanted the purple ribbons because they were pretty. But the parents laughed because purple ribbons were 6th place. Reilly got a few of those ;-)

By her 4th meet she was starting to understand that blue ribbons were first place. But that still didn't mean she was competitive. She was doing fantastic, don't get me wrong. But she stops regularly during the race. Not just to have a break...but to grab a hair clip off the bottom of the pool or to chat with her friend on the sideline ;-)

The only stroke she didn't stop on was back stroke!! She is fantastic at it!! I'm looking forward to watching her grow as a swimmer. It seems to be something she really enjoys.

Brooke's First Haircut

4th of July

We had a great time on the 4th of July hanging out at the Davis'. They had their annual party and the girls were soooo excited! It's fun as the kids get older and can start to enjoy the parties and holidays. Both girls really like the fireworks and sparklers. Brooke didn't quite make it up for the late night version, but Reilly did. She was the last kid awake and enjoyed every last minute of the fireworks.

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day last weekend. We took Mike to the waterpark with the Davis'. The kids were very well behaved and the older kids really had a fun time trying new things. Here they are on the zip line!