Testing the Waters

Try day Friday! This morning was Nora's morning to check out school. She was up and at 'em and picked out her finest outfit for the occasion - she added her yellow rain boots for the real deal! Lincoln and I went with her to meet teachers, check out classrooms, learn the lay of the land and show her/tell her what to expect when she's dropped off on Monday. She really had ZERO interest in me and Lincoln being there and I'm extremely confident she'll be more than ready on Monday. It was nice to see how easily she acclimated and how excited she is to get her learn on!

Sibs

These two kiddos love each other and I love how much fun they have together. Watching them laugh and play is so much fun! Today I did some cleaning but was otherwise a fun play day after a week of lots of work around the house. This evening I went to open house at Nora's school and Kyle met up with me to meet some teachers, check out the classrooms and again and learn a few of the ropes of how the year will work. Tomorrow Nora gets to go check things out and Monday it gets real!!

HD

As part of cleaning the windows I had to take the screens down, once they were down it was too clear a view to give up by putting them back up, at least until we get to cool enough temperatures to open them anyway! Until then, looking out the windows is like having the outside inside!!

Projects Here and There

A quick new project! The milk jug fit in the truck and made it down here! I gave it a little makeover today and managed to wash all the front windows inside and out between coats. Something about being gone for a month makes you realize how dirty your windows are...or something like that! Luckily the kiddos are excited enough to be back that they're enjoying lots of playroom playing time with the things they've missed and catching up on sleep too. I'll take advantage of it while I can!

Settling Back In

Nothing says a guy was home by himself for a month quite like opening the refrigerator on your first day back! If we all drank beer we'd be in good shape! I had the most productive first day back from a trip that I think I've ever had! Everything is unpacked and put away and laundry is almost done!! Super exciting! Now I need a nap! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JODUMS!!

North to South

Phew!!! We made it!! We snuck down to the beach to catch one more sunrise this morning then said our goodbyes and thank yous, packed up the kiddos and hit the road. Nora and Lincoln were total road warriors today and with the favorable conditions, teamwork and some entertaining podcasts the drive really wasn't terrible. We finished our journey in roughly 16 hours - which was good time even before we had kids and quite a bit less than I was braced for. Tomorrow Kyle's back to work and it's back to reality! Hard to believe our vacation is over, just like that...almost like we never left. Thank you to everyone who let us stay with them and helped to make our trip so fun!

Bay Point Exclamation Point!

What a way to end our month long summer trip! Today we spent the day at Bay Point, and I'm pretty sure Nora's head almost exploded in a great way! Almost all of her cousins were in one place - and at a beach to boot, both sets of Grandparents were there plus aunts and uncles and great aunts and uncles...AND the boat! It was a pretty amazing day of fun in the very sunny sun. There was sand playing, water splashing and tubing! Woohoo! Then after a pizza dinner by the beach we of course put the cherry on top by going to Dairy Dock - where Ken and Susan joined us for a dessert to our day! Pretty perfect - except we were a little too late to pick up peaches. Next time! Until next summer, I'm so grateful for the month that we've had and all the fun we've packed into it. Here's hoping Nora remembers at least a little of it! After such a great day it's going to be hard to pack into the car and spend the day driving tomorrow.