Yeah, Back to School!

I might be one of the few mom's who's happy school has started back up. I love the first month and a half of summer vacation but after that, I think even the kids start missing/needing/wanting a routine. I know I tend to get more done when I'm working than when I'm off during the summer because I have to. I can't just put things off "until tomorrow". I did get a lot of scrapbooking projects worked on/done but not many of the clean the basement/junk projects done. Somehow those projects really aren't all that appealing!
Mark was and is excited about 4th grade and I feel a bit lonely in my lower grade hallway knowing he is now in the upper grade hallway and I won't be seeing him as much. Mark did come by my room and gave me a quick hello and kiss yesterday which made me smile.
Kaylie started 9th grade and first day of school was yelled at by her teacher for borrowing a sheet of paper. Same teacher made another student cry for chewing gum in her class. Hopefully this isn't a sign of a bad year.
James is in his junior year (can't believe he only has one more year of high school before graduating!) Nobody told me concurrent enrollment classes are so expensive! Okay - I know it's tons cheaper this way than paying for college classes, but still! $79.00 for text and workbook for Spanish and $90 for calculus calculator!!!
Heavens! Keep him in prayer as he's got a really tough school schedule this year. On the bright side, senior year should be fairly easy!
As hard as it is to watch your children grow up and be independent, I miss being needed as much. But I am proud of all of them!

Paper Bag Mini Album

I made this for a friend at church who just had a baby - I'm pretty proud of how it turned out so I just had to show it off. Not sure what I did wrong but all the pictures are out of order and one page is missing.....hmmmm.... okay, figured it out and missing page is now there! Yeah, me!

Brotherly Love...

It amazes me how close these two boys are. One's going to be turning 17 in less than 5 months and the other is almost 10. There is quite a few years difference in ages between them, but that doesn't stop them from playing and usually annoying each other. You can definitely tell they are brothers but what is even more special is that they get along so well. As they grow older, my hope is they will be the best of friends also.

Update on Summer....

Two weeks ago the Triple Crown Softball Tournament was taking place in Park City and my niece Adrianna and her team Arizona Ice were playing in it. We got to watch her play, enjoy cooler weather in Park City and Kaylie was in heaven getting to spend time with Ashlynn, who wanted nothing to do with watching her sister play ball. So we got to have her with us, and it was wonderful having that time with her under our roof. Kaylie and Ashlynn were inseparable.