First Day of School

The end of summer and the start of the school year has been a whirl-wind at our house.  It's definitely been a dramatic change in our routine having both girls going off to school in the morning!

The good news is both girls LOVE school and their transition to new child care has been terrific. 









To get everyone excited for the start of school we had a 'First-Day of School Party' the night before.  Stella who's our little party planner made a banner, picked out a game, taped some decorations to the walls, and made some pretend 'goodie bags'. 

Claire dropped these a few times but they still
tasted great AND those princesses are rings they could have afterward!

Even though it wasn't a birthday party
both girls INSISTED we have candles!

This pin the star on the crown game was a party leftoever hand-me-down from a friend at work.  It was a little silly but mom took the opportunity to talk about what being a 'star-student' at school means.













We also had a fashion show of their new school outfits earlier in the week.  Our girls have tons of hand-me-downs so we only bought two new outfits and two new pairs of shoes, mostly just to get them excited.  When I asked if they wanted to have a fashion show it never occurred to me they would want a run way!  Too funny!  We brought down a mattress from one of their beds and used that and played some of their favorite songs.  I have no idea where some of the poses Stella made came from but it was silly and fun!  Claire wasn't so in to it but she danced around a little bit.

 Needless to say, we all had a lot of fun preparing for the first day of school!  When the day finally arrived both girls were happy and ready for the day.  Claire was a little shy when we first arrived to the morning program but only for just a moment.  No tears and an exciting day followed by family dinner at the Cactus-Grill afterward, which mommy thinks should become a new school year tradition!

Other exciting news for late August/Early September:

Mommy took the girls to campus for the welcome weekend Carnival which was full of fun games and activities, one of which was making your own stuffed animal and another was painting your own piggy bank.  The girls had tons of fun!

The orchard down the street has opened for the season so we met Aunt MJ there after church one Sunday and picked apples!













In an effort to have a better bed-time routine and encourage the girls to go to bed and sleep in their own rooms we bought them a new bunk bed and let them pick out their own bedding.  We tried to convince them to buy matching sheet sets but ended up letting them choose what they wanted: Paw Patrol on the top bunk, Frozen for the bottom, and Inside Out for the trundle.  We are happy to report that so far they are going to bed in their own room every night!

 Last Friday was school spirit day at Brasher Falls Elementary so on Thursday night we made some theme shirts to join along in the fun.  The girls liked making the shirts and despite it being kind of messy it was a fun project (that took us off our nightly bedtime routine....).  In the morning, my attempt at photos was a fail because Stella was a tad-bit grumpy!

 We have had some tears in the mornings since the start of school but mostly attribute that to tiredness.  We started with an 8:30 bedtime and then switched to 8.  It sure comes quickly at the end of the work day but we are all gradually adjusting to our new routine.  Amazing that we have two school-aged children now!