Longest Post Ever

The weekend before school started we decided to take the kids to the zoo (good idea Becky). Unfortunately, our kids had to leave early because Kale went ballistic when he found out we would not be riding the merry-go-round. Luckily we had already been there for a few hours before the tantrum struck, so we (at least Jon and I) had already had our fill. The kids loved it even though it was a million degrees outside.

School started for all of our kids last month, and it seemed pretty crazy. We were used to having just Rachel going to school for a few hours every day, and even then we didn't have to be ready until halfway through the day, so this year was a big change for us.

Rachel started 1st grade, and both Kale and Hallie started morning pre-school. Now, instead of having half of us ready to go by noon, we had to have everyone ready to go by 8:30! And to top it all off, Jon was gone the first week so he wasn't even there to help us merge into the new phase of our lives. Anyway, we have made it through these first few weeks, and now we pretty much have things under control in the mornings.

Rachel loves school, although she does tell me at least twice a week that she wishes the school work could be a little harder. But, even though she wants more/harder work, she has decided to stay in her current school because she really likes the kids in her class.

Hallie is continuing her speech classes and then attends a regular pre-school on the other days. She loves both, although speech class, surprisingly, is her favorite. She has really started to be more outgoing and sure of herself, even just in the past month. School has really been great for her.

We're doing a little home pre-school for Kale with some kids from the neighborhood, and he is in heaven. I was the most worried about him because he is so unpredictably crazy sometimes. But, it turns out he loves being dropped off at the different houses. In fact, he loves it so much that he has made it clear to me that I don't need to walk him to the door anymore. I guess he is much too mature for that sort of thing.

Along with the beginning of school came the beginning of soccer. The girls are absolutely loving it, and they both seem to be pretty skilled (meaning they aren't afraid to try and get the ball, and when their goal switches sides at half-time, they remember which goal is theirs). Obviously natural born athletes.

Rachel taught the kids that it is way awesome to dump your water bottle on your head during breaks in soccer games/practice. They think it is so funny.

When we're not running all over town getting the kids to school, soccer, gymnastics, or music school, we spend most of our time in the backyard. Sky is just learning that she can go out and play with the other kids, and she absolutely loves it!

The kids wanted to do some finger-painting while Jon and I were working in the basement, so I set up their painting station in the backyard and let them go at it. They had so much fun! Everyone, except Kale, was filthy by the end (most especially Sky), but it didn't matter since they were outside. Besides, Rachel just hosed everyone off once they were all done (literally, I looked out the window and she was spraying Sky in the face with the hose).