Yea! So glad to have everyone back to "normal."  Kids were all smiles as they headed off to school this week.

Walker did have one thing that happened at school... when I picked him up the other day he was quiet... too quiet. As we drove home he said, "At clean up time... John said he wouldn't be my friend anymore!" I felt so sad for him and asked, "What did you do then?" He replies, "I told Miss Cindi." On a plus side... he seems to be very popular with the girls! As soon as we get there in the morning they ask him if he will play with them. Yesterday he asked if he could have a girl over for a playdate.

Ainsley's got her back to school night tomorrow, I will be glad to have a chance to talk to her teacher. We got so spoiled in Kindergarten... I knew her teacher to begin with... saw her daily at pick up time... and she was so good about sending home a monthly letter letting you know what was happening in the classroom so that you could continue to work on things at home. With First grade all that has stopped... hoping that the parent schedule works out so that I can get some time in to volunteer in the class... to be a little more aware.

Woke up this morning all ready for the soccer games... and just before we left Ainsley started throwing up! Poor thing she was so upset that she was going to miss her game. I let Stewart choose... throw up duty or soccer game... much to my surprise he opted for throw up duty (he usually turns just as green as the kiddos!) My sweet girl all curled up and resting with Phyllis.

Walker was the soccer superstar for sure... he scored 4 goals and assisted with 2! He had fun which is really the main thing. So proud of him!

He got a bit carried away when he was running after the ball... he lost interest for a moment and started watching his shadow while running... which caused a stumble over another player... resulting in a pileup. Here's a couple more pictures from the game today.

Found this in Walker's backpack... one of those things that make you go, "Ahhh... so cute!"

Not sure as to why he and Daddy are missing arms... I think he ran out of time. He was so thrilled to tell me all about his picture... and was the most proud of making the sky at the top.

I have a feeling that these beautiful big eyes will be causing us issues down the road... such a cutie!

I asked for one more picture and this is what i got... gotta love that classic eye roll!

On to other news... I so wasn't prepared for Ainsley to be receiving phone calls. Yesterday a little friend from school called... took me forever to figure out who they were asking for. I finally got that it was for Ainsley and handed over the phone.

Let me now set the scene... Walker is suppose to be getting soccer gear on... I'm repeating to him that he has to take off his pants before he puts socks and shin guards on... now repeating it again. Dinner is in the process of starting to burn... we are rushing to get things ready to leave... and in my ear I hear, "Yes, we are having the party on either Friday or Saturday!" Ainsley was in the middle of trying to host a swimming sprinkler party!

So let me tell you she was quite upset with me when I put a hault on the party planning. Had to let her know that she just can't invite people over when the parents are unaware. Geesh... first grade! I thought maybe this would be more of an issue next year or maybe even third grade.

So we made it to Walker's first soccer practice (left darn camera at home!) He has a really good coach and he was so good about listening and following instructions so much so that when the coach said to kick the ball through the gates... he starts to do this... meanwhile coach gets distracted with new players arriving and has to figure out if they are on the team... all the while Walker is continuing to kick the soccer ball through the gates... while other kids gave up and were off playing. Such a good boy! They too decided on a name... Super Fast Dragons. His choice... Gold Medals (which was Ainsley's team name) Brought a smile to our faces to hear him say that... wanting to be just like Ainsley.

I love when something catches your eye unexpectedly... something that makes you stop and just stare in awe. Last night after putting the kids to bed I looked out the window to see if it had stopped raining and saw this...

It's something that happens most nights... sunsets... rarely do I take the time to enjoy them. But last night I grabbed my camera and headed outside. The picture doesn't do it justice... it had the most amazing color of purple... just thought I'd share.

Today Walker is throwing up... I swear he has the most sensitive stomach around. So we are just hanging out at home... it's chilly today so were lounging in sweatshirts... can't wait for fall to begin... my favorite time of year.

This past weekend we seeded the lawn... grubs ate a majority of the backyard... note to self: Don't buy generic grub killer, stick to the nursery brand... and apply a bit earlier in the season.

Oh, forgot to mention how Ainsley's first hot lunch experience went. In her words, "Lunch was SOOOOOO good." She had pizza (cheese of course), vanilla pudding (which got the most comments) and little oranges. We decided once a week was a good treat. So this coming week she picked Wednesday... mini corn dogs.

She had her first set of homework sent home... 25 pages of penmanship practice!

Ainsley had her first soccer practice... she has a new coach and new team this season as well. We meet her coach and he asks Ainsley, "Are you ready to work hard?" She replies, "Yep." He then says, "Well you will have to work extra hard because you're the only girl on the team." I think my mouth flew open and it was all I could do to keep myself from kicking him in the shins! Afterwards I turned to Stewart and said, "I can't believe he just said that... implying that girls suck."

We were so proud of her at practice she hustled hard... listened far better and kicked harder than most of the boys. Afterwards they had to decide on a name... Ainsley's idea was "Gold Medals" and it won! She was so excited.

Walker will start his practice next week and then both games next Saturday which just had to be scheduled on the exact time. So Stewart and I will have to go with one kiddo and then switch at half time. Thankgoodness only 2 games are scheduled for the same time the rest are either before or after eachother. Should be an interesting year.

We are finally into the much sought after schedule... I now know what time I need to leave here to get Ainsley to school... the best way to avoid the morning traffic getting Walker to school and what to do with my free time. So things are settling right into a pretty good groove.

Walker came home from school yesterday and was confused as to why his new gym teacher was called Mr. Stewart when he looked nothing like his Daddy.

Ainsley's loving math right now... always wanting us to give her a math problem... love that!

A couple pictures from the past few days... one of the kiddos this morning before heading to school.

And a picture... I stumbled upon one evening just before bed time... one that melts my heart. Ainsley sitting in Walker's bed reading him a Thomas the Train story... pausing every so often to help him sound out words too.

Today Walker had his first day of 4 year old Preschool.

We got there... hung up his backpack... and I was looking around the room asking him what station he wanted to join. He turns to me and in a little whisper says, "Mommy I want you to go now." I gave him a big hug and turned to go and got one more big hug from him and then he was off. I'm glad that he's so sure of himself and able to just join in with a group of kids.

So an hour and a half to myself... I thought I'd have a hard time... but I could get use to it (said with a smile). It was nice to get all my "chores" done with out stopping to referee a kid quarrel. Felt a little weird though to not have someone to do something for.

Picked him up a few hours later and he says, "Wow the time went by really fast!" and later in the car... "Yeah I had a really fun day!"

He's excited to head back tomorrow.

So we should have gone inside... after school we picked her up and she says, "You didn't come inside... all the other parents came!" She found her room... went inside and couldn't find her name tag... she thought she was in the wrong room and started to cry! Poor thing I felt awful while she was telling me all this.

Thankgoodness another Mom (whom she knew from last year) saw her and helped her find her name tag and coat hook. Her teacher had done a cursive A and a curly tail l... she's never seen cursive letters. After the beginning trauma she had a great day... loves having a desk and was even more excited on Friday to organize it.

She took a lunch both days and next week wants to try hot lunch. I was actually amazed that she ate her sandwich... you know first time eating away from home... thought she'd just eat her twinkie and crackers!

First thing on Friday's pickup she came running out with a half eaten roll up. Her principal had given all the kids roll ups. She saw that it was Spiderman and ate half and then rolled up the rest... shoved it in her pocket and proudly presented it to Walker... who had a huge grin. Makes you stop and think, "Hey we are doing something right!"

Enjoying the weekend... just hanging out and soaking up the kiddos. Monday things will change I will no longer have a constant companion with me. Walker will be out of school at 10:45 but from 8:15 until then the house will be quiet... empty. I'll spend most of my time shuttling from here to there and will really only have an hour and a half by myself... but it will be quiet... something it never is and something that will be hard to get use to.