Too fast.

This boy is growing up way too quickly.
This age has been hard for me to adjust to.
I've learned in order for children to become productive, independent adults that you have to let them be.  And do. 
Within reason. 
Sometimes that is just plain hard. On mom, that is.
Decisions.
Can I walk to the pool?
Can I rided my bike to the park?
Do I have to go to the store with you?
Makes me crazy.  In a good way.
He is growing up, you know.

Future Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift learned to play guitar at the age of 12.
Hannah is starting at the age of 5.
Do I have a future musician on my hands?  We'll see.

Crazy Water Fountain.

There is this crazy water fountain at Brown's Park.
It has high pressure and you have to be very careful when you turn it on so that it doesn't spray you in the face. 

The kids wanted to see how high the fountain would spray.

And, everyone had to take their turn.

Even Mallory came over to check it out.

Green Thumb.

Hannah is my little gardener.  She loves to be outside and she loves the tedious work that comes with maintaining our flower beds.

Bike Ride.

While we were at Brown's Park, we also went for a bike ride. 
This was Mallory's first big ride since her knee surgery. 
She was so excited to get out and go on her bike.

I was so proud of Mallory and her persistence.

She peddled slowly but consistently.

Occasionally, I would have to give her a push. 
Especially if there was any incline.

Brown's Park BBQ

We finally finished our major house project for the summer so we decided to celebrate with a picnic at Brown's Park.
The weather was perfect for a BBQ and bike ride. 

Lost: Tooth

Hannah lost her first tooth last night.  Another rite of passage reminding me that my little girl is growing up way too quick.

Chaos.

"We live in a rainbow of chaos."

The back to school craziness has set in.  The influx of papers and homework.  The busy evening of housework and preparing for the next day. Grumpy kids who do not want to get out of bed.   The rush out the door each morning.  Tired and grumpy mom.  Bleh.

As summer ended, I craved a schedule but somehow I had forgotten the chaos of keeping it all straight.

Parade Day.

I took my 7-day vacation during the fair again this year.  Our daycare is closed during this time so it works out perfectly. 

We decided to have our Lemonade Stand again before and during the parade.  It was a hit.

Mallory joined us for part of the parade with her I-pod in hand.
She later retreated to the house where it was much cooler.

Matthew and Hannah enjoyed having a yard full of kids.

The parade was terrific.

Hannah was suppose to ride a horse in the parade.  She had a slight mishap at the water park the day before and had a large goose egg on her forehead.  With the high temps, I figured it would be wise to keep an eye on her at home.

But, Jackie and Taylor rode their horses in the parade.
Of course, it was our favorite. :)

One Week.

One week of Kindergarten is down in the books.
Hannah loves school.  She really likes lunch and nap time.
She thinks her teacher, Mrs. Brown, is pretty awesome.
She says that she spends her time at recess "chasing boys".
Her friend, Skylar, is in her class room. 
I wish that more of the girls she bonded with in preschool were in the classroom as well. But from the way it sounds, they meet up every day at recess.  To chase boys......
Every night, she tells me that she has homework. (She really doesn't)
So, we have gotten back into the habit of reading books everynight. 
2-3 of them. 
I enjoy this time every night bonding with her. 
She is growing up way too quickly.

More Progress.

 Todd has made a lot of progress on the house.  The soffits are getting close to being completely replaced.  We have started painting the trim and I'm pleased with the results.

Second Day of School.

I was prepared this morning. 

I had camera in hand and snapped some pics of Mallory before the bus arrived.

The beginning of school was complete with a new pair of glasses.

Mallory's choice, of course.

We also found the perfect yellow backpack. 

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Mallory is now a 5th grader, Matthew is a 3rd grader, and Hannah started Kindergarten.  We were off to a good start this morning.  So good that the bus was early and I didn't have the camera ready to get Mallory's picture.

Hannah was very ready for Kindergarten.

Me?  Not so much.

As we were taking her to school this morning, Hannah said "I know where my class is so you can just drop me off out front". 

She wasn't fond of her dad picking on her in front of the school.

She was all set and ready to go.
After school, Hannah called me at work to tell me about her day.
She like recess and her teacher.  They read books.  She sang songs.  And she had chicken strips for lunch.
Sounds like a pretty full day to me. 

A clean room.

This busy 5-year old has not felt the need to clean her room.
I have spent the past few weeks keeping her door shut, patiently waiting to see how bad it could get.

Well, it got bad enough.
I threatened that Hannah would not be able to go to school if her room was not clean.  So, we spent the evening cleaning.

After what seemed like hours of cleaning, finally a clean floor.

A clean dresser that is no longer heaped with clean & dirty clothes, toys, and books.

A desk that has everything put back in it's place.

We'll see how long this lasts.  :)