First Day of First Grade

First Day of First Grade! 

It was great!  She loves first grade. She loves her new teacher and one of my favorite teacher friends, Miss Boykin!  We look forward to a great year!!  My favorite part is that she is directly across the hall from me.  She faces the door and I can peek in anytime to smile at my sweetie!

How grown up does this little sweetie look?

Ready or Not!! Here Comes First Grade!

Kamdyn starts 1st grade tomorrow.  I can hardly believe it.  She is so ready.  Why am I not?  It really seems like yesterday that she was Karcie's age and I was chasing her around the house.  Why do they have to grow up so quickly?  I look back and wonder if I really savored every moment like I should have.  Did I hold her enough, rock her enough, sing to her enough, read to her enough?  Then, I look at what a sweet, smart, witty, compassionate, and all-around great little girl she has become and realize that I must have done some things right.  Was I perfect?  No.  Am I perfect now? No. But, I tried to do everything that I could to make her feel loved so that she would become independent and strong, but tender hearted and caring at the same time. 

It's hard being a working Mom!  I struggle with the first day of school since having children EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.  I don't want to go back to work because I don't want to miss a thing.  I want to volunteer in her classroom.  I want to volunteer in our school.  It seems as if this would be easy since I am there, but I am so busy doing my own job that there isn't any time left over. 

Now that we have Karcie, I think I am struggling with starting back to work even more.  I know that she is our last baby.  This is it!  I can't turn back time.  I will never get these precious moments back.  And I know that in the upcoming weeks, months, and soon-to-be year that we will be rushed and racing the clock.  There won't be enough time for me to truly enjoy my family as I would like.  I will work hard to find the proper balance, but it just never seems to be enough. 

I HAVE to learn to let go a little.....well, A LOT!!  Do I need to be a perfect teacher?  No, but I want to be.  Will I ever be a perfect Mommy?  No, but I want to be.  Can I be a perfect wife?  We know the answer to this question, too. 

As I prepare for Kamdyn to start first grade tomorrow and for myself to begin another year as a Kindergarten teacher, my goal is to LET IT GO and ENJOY EVERY SINGLE MOMENT!! 

We'll see how it goes......

Big Shoes!

This girl is obsessed with our shoes. She is forever going into my closet and dragging out all of my shoes especially the heels.

Here she is with daddy's flip flops. These kept her occupied for quite a while! Excuse her PJ and diaper outfit. She didn't leave the house today and wanted to be comfy! :)

Pappy anyone?

Karcie loves her Pappy and it isn't any secret.  I used to leave them in her bed, but now she only stands beside her crib and fusses to have it.  Usually we give in.  Weak, I know!  Since they had on coordinating outfits, Kamdyn wanted to be funny by having Pappy, too.  As cute as Kamdyn and I thought it was, Karcie wasn't so keen on big sister having her Pappy in her mouth.  She fought hard to get it out of her mouth.  Here's proof....

A New Hideout!

Karcie discovered this new hiding place a few weeks ago.  It's great until she decides to stand up.  After a few whacks to her head, she is finally learning that she has to crawl out because she is too tall to stand.  This is where I found both of them playing the other day.  So sweet!

What was Karcie doing?

While we were at Hickory Knob for a couple of days, Karcie was having fun with Georgia for the first day and Nanny the last two days.  At Georgia's, she learned how to drink from a straw.  From the looks of things she is pretty proud of herself!!  Thanks, Nanny and Georgia!!

She had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays.

And it looks like Georgia wore her out!

Hickory Knob Part 2

We spent our last day skeet shooting. Richard participated. Kamdyn and I observed. I did shoot the shot gun twice, but I will tell you that it almost shot me in the opposite direction. The kick back was crazy!! But, at least I know what to do if an intruder gets in my house! You gotta be TOUGH to shoot a gun!!

We finished the day on the lake. Richard floated ( hilarious!) in honor of our cancelled River trip. Kamdyn napped. I enjoyed the sun the last time before my summer officially ended.

It was a great mini vacation to end our short, but fun summer!

Hickory Knob

We took an impromptu mini vacation to Hickory Knob State Park this weekend. And, just to clarify, we are not camping!! We are in a cabin. The park has a pool, boat slips, restaurant, skeet shooting, archery, trails, and lots if skunks. :) Real ones, it's not Richard!

Here are a few highlights thus far! This is the steepest ramp I've ever climbed!!