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Daryl has been out of town since Wednesday and all I can say is I am ready for him to come home. I don't mind him being gone every now and then. It gives me a chance to watch some movies he would rather not watch and to get caught up on my shows on TIVO. But all I can say is after about day 2 I am ready for him to come home. The kids are so excited to see him again, anytime the door opens today they think it is him. T minus 3 hours and daddy is home......yeah!

Different

I was having dinner last night with my dad and he said to me, "did you ever think when you were growing up that your life would be like this" Of course he asked this while I was trying to keep 3 kids reigned in at Chick fila. We continued to talk about how lucky I was and what a great family we have.

The whole conversation though got me thinking about how my life is different now. I remember growing up always knowing that I would be married and have kids. I also knew growing up that I would probably never move away from this area. The last thing I thought growing up is that my mom would be by my side as I had kids, as my kids grew up and as they got married. Unfortuantely, that did not happen and the only way I can explain my life and feelings now is "different".

Right after my mom passed away I remember thinking I would never get past it, there were literally days when I thought I would not make it through the day. The feelings of loss were so intense. My feelings moved from intense all the time to intense now and then and now I would just say that life is just different. Do I still have days where my feelings of loss are intense, absolutely, but more then anything it just feels different.

I used to see my mom almost daily and if I did not see her I talked to her, we had lunch together at least once a week and she was amazing with my kids. Now neither me nor my kids have those things anymore and when someone is such a huge part of your life and then is gone everything just feels different.

It is different to hear friends talk about their moms and know that I don't have mine anymore. It is different to go out to lunch to some of the places my mom and I used to go and she is not there anymore. It is different to go see my dad at his house or at the lake and not have mom there. It is different to move into a new house and not have her there through the whole process. It is different to watch my kids grow up and not have my mom to watch right along with me. It is different that my kids will never know what it is like to have a grandma who have taken them school shopping and would be cheering them on at all their events. Life is different and basically it just sucks!

High School Musical 2

Well...you know it had to be done. Our girls really love High School Musical - so when Disney Channel announced that there was a sequel coming out - the girls started counting down the days.

Special thanks to the Callenders' for hosting the party. From the pictures above you can see how enthralled the girls were throughout the majority of the movie. Allison already resonates with the romantic stuff (were there tears in your eyes?) and Rachel loved it though she got a bit distracted at times.

The kids dressed up like their favorite HSM2 stars, we had pizza and lots of treats.

I can almost hear them asking, "When does High School Musical 3 come out?"

Am I Old Enough For This?

(Photo by Jason Powell)

Earlier this summer we spent the day with other GCC staff for the yearly picnic. Tyler told us he wanted to do the zip line (probably after watching Diego do it a hundred times) but when he got up there I think the heights bug hit him. His face tells the whole story:

What did my mom just let me do?!

Needless to say he made it to the bottom fine. He did slide off the seat but the harness was there to catch him. People quickly scooped him up and unhooked him so I think the trauma was minimal...

You go boy!

Rachel's First Time on the School Bus

Since Rachel was only in school for an hour the first day she did not get to ride the bus, so on Thursday Rachel boarded the school bus for the first time. Of course she had her big sister by her side, which Rachel was very happy about. They were able to sit in the same seat together which I thought was so cute. I am going to encourage it as much as possible right now, because I am sure some day they won't even speak to each other on the bus. I am really not looking forward to that day.

Allison and Rachel heading out to the bus.

Rachel on the bus for the first time.

Allison and Rachel on the bus together for the first time.

Rachel's First Day of Kindergarten

Believe it or not my little girl is going to Kindergarten. I can hardly believe I have 2 kids in school now. Where has the time gone? Rachel was so excited to go to school. The first day she only went for an hour while the parents were in a orientation. She knew a couple of kids in her class which she was excited about. She is going 3 days a week full day and then 2 days a week till 10:20am. Since school did not start this week till Wed. she was only gone till 10:20 on Thurs. and Friday. Next week will be very strange when she does not come home till 2:45pm.

She seems to be having a good time in Kindergarten. She told me on Friday that she was being as quite as a mouse, we will see how long that lasts :)

Rachel in front of her school

Allison's First Day of 1st Grade

I cannot believe Allison is in 1st grade. Seriously, where did the time go. I can remember the day she was born and now she is in school all day everyday. I told Daryl this week, it is really strange having her gone all day. I miss her already and it has only been 3 days.

Her and her best friend, Abby, are not in the same class this year but she likes her teacher so far and seems to be having a good time. Though it did only take 3 days of getting up early before she told me she was too tired to get up. She is so my daughter!!!

Allison waiting for the bus.

Tyler's First Preschool Experience

Here is Tyler getting ready for his first preschool experience this week and he did a great job. Ty is going to Clay Church 2 times a week in the morning for 4 hours. I was so nervous about his first day. Knowing his personality I knew he would be really nervous in a new place without mom or dad or his sisters. Ty will stay just about anywhere as long as Allison and Rachel are with him, so I figured he would have a hard time without them.

We got to his room and he was fine until I told him that Allison and Rachel were leaving with me, then he clung to me like crazy. I told the teacher it was time and she took him and out we walked. They said minutes after we left he was fine. He has his best little buddy in his class with him, so I also knew that once Carter arrived he would be fine. He gets to eat lunch there and do all sorts of other fun stuff.

He is also going to be going to the preschool at Mary Frank starting in a couple of weeks. He will attend there 2 mornings a week also. This year will be all sorts of fun for Ty and a huge learning experience for him.

Our Summer

This has been a crazy, very short summer for us. I cannot believe it is coming to an end this week. We have done alot of really fun things and since I have not blogged all summer I thought I would give you a recap now.

Allison got out of school June 8. We had about a week off with not a whole lot to do and then our first session of swimming lessons started and lasted 2 weeks. That same week the girls did Poms camp at Penn every afternoon. They had a great time doing both. I have to say that I am a huge believer in swim lessons. Yes, they cost some money and yes they take up a bunch of your time, but both of my girls have learned to swim because of them. Allison is at that stage of swimming where you can pretty much leave her on her own and not have to worry too much. Rachel has made huge progress this summer and is quickly heading in the same direction as her sister.

At the end of June, Daryl and I got the chance to get away for about 5 days just the 2 of us. Daryl was going to a conference in Washington DC and since I had never been there we thought it would be fun to make a mini vacation out of it. We had a great time hanging out with the team that went from Granger and we had a great time just being together without kids. This was the longest we had been away together since our honeymoon. Sad I know, but it is the truth. It was a really good thing for us and if you are married with kids, you need to make it a priority to get away with your spouse for days at a time. I am a firm believer that it makes you better parents when you have that time to reconnect.

We came back just in time for 4th of July and spent some time at the lake. My grandma came in town unexpectedly, which was great. We had some time to hang with her and just chill at the lake. She left and it was 2 more weeks of swimming lessons along with Vacation Bible School. We absolutely love VBS at Grace. The kids love it and they do it with excellence. I will send my kids there as long as they continue to do it. We had another week or so off with nothing to do and then the trip that the kids have been talking about since last year arrived.... the Dells!

We took a road trip with the Callenders, Ruths and Verduins to Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time. This is the second trip there with this group. There is nothing better then hanging with your best friends for 4 straight days, and yes we are still friends :) The kids had a great time and didn't want to come home.

We also spent many days at the lake going on boat rides, swimming, and hanging out with PaPa and Uncle Ryan. I love summer because I love being at the lake. The kids also spent many days with their best friends swimming in our little 3 foot pool. It was a busy summer, but it was also a GOOD summer.

All of this bring us to today, with school starting this week. Tyler is actually starting at one of the 2 preschools he will be attending this year (more on that later) tomorrow. Allison starts 1st grade and Rachel starts Kindergarten on Wednesday. I cannot believe our summer is over. Back to 8:00 am bedtimes and alarms going off at 6:15 or before, I am so not ready for this.....

Good Fun Was Had By All...

Of course I have to brag about my kids. They are the cutest things since their mother, and they are fun to watch at waterparks. You bond, you laugh and you learn a lot about each one as they either choose not to do something or boldly throw themselves into it without thought to bodily harm.

We had a great time as a family and being with our group of friends. The adults had time to bond and the kids had time to do just about everything possible at a waterpark. I think this is going to be a fun annual trip.

Ally poses for the camera in one of the side pools. She wouldn't go down the slide for me so I couldn't get an action shot of that...	Rachel hits the water at the bottom of a short straight slide - typically going under water and swimming to the side without coming up for air...
Tyler went from fear of being sprinkled to going down large slides that dumped into three or four feet of water...of course we were there to catch him on those.	The girls relax in the wave pool and try to keep from being run into by the "crazy people" in the deep end.
The kids make their own pizzas at UNO's Pizzaria. They did a great job even though there was barely enough cheese. Come on Wisconsin!