Thank goodness for Sunday's Day of Rest!

It's so nice to have a Sunday where we are at home, no kids to get ready for school (well there was getting ready for church much less stress in that), no lunches to pack, no phones ringing, no significant deadlines to meet (trying not to think about all that have to be met this coming week).

The kids are relaxed enjoying being able to be at home and outside playing to their heart's content...enjoying this quietness...even if in 5-10 minutes chaos breaks loose...which is very good possibility.

We survived our first 4 days of school even though it was very exhausting! Megan had homework every night and even a tiny bit for the weekend...I guess that is what we have to look forward to the next several years of school. She has been really good about making sure that she does get it done but she does like to have her momma close by to help. It's a little tricky for me to sit and help her when I have two other that also need "help" at the same time. Our turkeys also loaded out this week so that is an all night thing for Les, he didn't get home until about 4:30 a.m. and after showering, he came to bed about the time I was getting ready to wake up. He also has been very busy around the farm chopping silage and attending to the turkeys trying to keep them cool in this hot weather...so he hasn't been in the house to "help" with the bed time routine. Now with Griffin going to school it just makes it a little more to juggle at bed time. I'm sure things will go smoother once we are all on the same routine. Ok didn't mean to go off on that tanget..... Megan said she does like 5th grade and enjoys switching classes between 3 teachers this year...she said it makes the day seem to go by faster. I was a little worried how she'd like that but she absolutely thinks its great. She of course is being a great protective big sister to Griffin...she's a natural little momma....Natalie does well at watching out for him too....but Megan definitely will be the Momma Bear if anyone tries to pick on him.

Here's some pictures of them getting on the bus for the first time (2nd day) Look how she has her arm around his back letting him get on the bus in front of her and Natalie of course lead the way for him. I could see in the window that he sat right between them both! Thank goodness for big sisters!! Makes me relax a little easier knowing they are on the bus to watch out for my baby!
This is the first year Megan has had a locker at school with a combination to learn. That was a piece of cake for her and I think she is enjoying being able to have a place to keep all her stuff. This picture was from "Open House" night. She has every thing in a nice tidy order, which she is pretty good about doing at school...I wish that would flow over to her room at home!

Natalie has had a great week too and absolutely LOVES school and her teacher! She is pretty stoked that she was able to have a locker as a 4th grader! Megan was teasing her that she didn't think that was fair...oh well...but she too has a combination for her locker and has memorized it and has had no problems getting it opened...it is around the corner from where Megan's locker is and their class rooms are actually across the hall from each other. Natalie has already started on Math Mad Minutes. It's a set of math problems and they have a certain amount of time to finish them in...it's a race against the clock...of course you know "racing" is in her blood and Natalie has just as much passion in Mad Minutes as she does in her running so she does very well with them....

Speaking of running Megan & Natalie have had Cross Country practice every day after school until 4:30...well being that I am helping coach their team this year...I have to stay until the last student leaves, for the most part, the parents are all on time picking them up, but after answering questions and all it's usually closer to 5 when we get done and in the van ready to go home. It just makes a rush to get home eat supper, bath, and to bed & throw homework in somewhere...so I'm digging out the crock pot/slow cooker recipes to try to help with that...so if you have any good ones please post them for me! Here's my cutie-putie Natalie by her locker at the "Open House".

Griffin has had the roughest week of all three of them. He likes school when he is there but he is completely EXHAUSTED....like melt-down, can not function and crying tired. My kids (knock on wood) have not been the type to every sit down, kick their feet, and throw fits on the floor, aside from them being 12 to 18 months old...we nipped that quickly....so to see my 5-year-old boy acting this way has just made me feel terrible, wondering if I should have waited to send him....well I've talked to some other parents of kindergarteners and they are having the same reactions with their children...I think it is the All day Every day kindergarten...Megan & Natalie went every other day when they were in kindergarten and were tired when they got home but they had the day off in between that helped them recoop. Griffin every morning said he did not want to go to school, but knowing he got to ride the school bus excited him somewhat. On Wednesday evening he asked me "why do I have to go to school any way?" I told him he had to go to school so he could be a good farmer some day. He replied to me, "They don't teach any farming there." I then had to go into explain how he needed to be able to read and do math to figure out what kind of seed and how much seed he would need to plant and how many acres he was going to plant, etc.... On Thursday when he walked out of the house to wait for the school bus, which by the way didn't arrive until 7:53 a.m., so they were late for school, anyway he walked out and saw the silage wagons sitting out by the silos and he said "OH Come On, they are doing silage today, no fair".....I think that's the big reason he doesn't want to go to school is because he is missing out on all his "farming" he has been doing during the day.

Here is Griffin by his locker in his class room the night of the "Open House". He came home from school that day and told me he had to sit in the hallway that day. I was thinking OH Great the first week of school and he is already in the hallway??? Well come to find out, (which was no surprise to me), they were given something to color, and when she came around to tell the kids to finish up, he hadn't even hardly started coloring his because he was being Mr. little social bug, and he was sitting right next to his buddy, Brayten from preschool....Mrs. Wild told me that he wasn't in the hallway long and in no time he had his paper colored...she asked him what he learned...and he said "If I do my work faster, I get to go to recess faster!" Too funny....now he sits by 3 little girls...bless his heart. He was very excited to have 2 days off...so hopefully tomorrow morning and the rest of the week will go smoother! He has enjoyed getting to ride with Uncle Doug over to the big school where I meet them with baby Alton, who has been so fun to be babysitting again, Doug also has been dropping Griffin off at Grandma Grabers so he doesn't have to stay at cross country practice which has been a HUGE BLESSING to me and to Griffin...he loves to spend time at grandma's and hates to leave. I am so thankful that we have family around to help out because I am sure I would be insane by now if I didnt' have their help! God is good...(Please hold your comments on the insane part...I'm sure there are some who think I already am! LOL)