Back to school

Well, school officially began last week and the kids are still in the "school is so much fun" mode which I expect will come to an end by this Friday.  Here are a few pics from that first day of school, along with some quotes from the kids that I couldn't resist posting to remember the week . . .

Ryan trying to hide his excitement as he leaves for High School - 10th grade

"MOM . . . you did NOT!!" . . . those were Ryan's first words when he walked in the door, and ya, we did - that would be decorate his locker with a "welcome to high school" board and notes from the family saying "Go Eagles! . . . We hope you have a great first day . . . we love you, etc..," along with his favorite gum.  The girls and I had his locker combo since he missed registration (he and Chris were in Michigan), so Caroline came up with the idea and we went to town.  The greatest part was that he had a whole crowd of friends with him when he opened the locker.  PERFECT!!  I think he was secretly thrilled to have the attention and all the girls telling him, "your mom is so cool" . . . yes Ryan, I am ;-).

"Did he actually think I would go over and sit by him??"  We got a kick out of this story:  Caroline (8th grade) arrived to her geometry class right after the bell rang and most the kids had found a place to sit and all was quieting down.  One of the SBOs (9th grader who thinks he's God's gift to all Jr. High girls) calls out, "Hey Caroline, wanna come sit by me?"  Caroline didn't hesitate with her nonchalant response, "Um, no, not really," as she sought out another desk.  Apparently the class and teacher thought it was hilarious and everyone laughed, completely embarrassing this kid . . . oh Caroline . . . Chris summarized the event quite nicely with a chuckle and, "ooooh, playing hard to get now are we, and with a ninth grader . . . ouch."

"All the other girls will want to wear their fancy back to school outfits, not me, I want look like an ATHLETE!"  Of course, Sophie our track and soccer star wouldn't want anything less and couldn't wait to sport her new t-shirt, Nikes, and pigtails (I insisted on bows for a touch of femininity) for the first day of 4th grade.  The highlight of her week was beating all the girls AND boys from her class in the quarter-mile run during PE yesterday . . . we have one happy girl!

Loading the bus on the first day . . . go Sophie!

"It was SOOOO boring!"  Yep, that would be the first thing to escape Liza's lips after she stepped off the bus and I enthusiastically asked her how her first day of 1st grade went . . . sigh.  The good news is that school is getting better and she enjoyed the majority of the week.  The better news is that I am really loving my days free from interruptions :-).

And if your pantry looks like mine with a month's supply of Capri Sun (don't laugh, it was on sale - if you bought 8 boxes you saved another $4 - can't pass up that deal), school must be back in session . . . ahhh, making lunches everyday, not my favorite, but I do it because it's all part of being a mom and if I don't my kids would rather starve than eat school lunch, plus if they're eating lunch at school, when will they get their love notes I write on napkins?  Ryan informed me sometime during the 8th grade that he really wouldn't feel all that bad if I refrained from that tradition when it came to his lunches.